Starlight Darknight
by Aki WildQueen
Summary: Darkness. Pain. That's what Harry has known all his life. What happens when a broken Harry cries out for help one night? Who will save him? Afterall, what good is a savior if he can't even save himself? possible HPLV/HPTR slash Rated M for later chapters
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: My name is not J. K. Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter and I never will.

_"Parseltongue"_

"Normal speech"

'Thought speech'

_Flashback_

"Parseltongue in Flashback"

* * *

Prologue

* * *

Darkness.

Pain. Loneliness.

Those were the first things he had ever known.

Those were the things he was familiar with.

Those were the things he thought he'll never be without.

Here he was, bathed in blood. Chained to the wall of a dark dungeon cell. The likelihood of getting out of this situation was near to none. Yet still he thought of the happiness he had experienced in his short and ill-fated life. Back to the beginning when all of this began.

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

One of the earliest things he could ever remember was the sound of yelling.

"BOY!"

Loud thumps were heard above, accompanied by clouds of dust and a rain of spiders.

Harry Potter, age seven, cringed at the sound. Barely breathing, he waited, huddled in the corner of his cupboard for whatever punishment that was to be brought down upon his head.

The lock on his cupboard door rattled as it was being unbolted. Harry blinked rapidly as a torrent of light flooded into his cupboard when it was flung open. It was no wonder when he didn't see the massive pudgy hand that dragged him out.

"Boy!" his Uncle Vernon roared. "How dare you not iron my lucky shirt?! Today is the important Bendan meeting! I need my shirt to settle a deal!" Vernon positively snarled at Harry who flinched and started to stammer out apologies.

"Sorry! I didn't know you wanted to wear that shirt! I'm so sorry! I'll iron it! I'll iron it right now! Please! I'm so sor-" Harry stuttered out before being slapped across the face.

"Sorry?! I'll make you sorry boy! I'll make you sorry that you were ever born!" Vernon bellowed before backhanding Harry hard across the face again. Harry whimpered and tried to twist out of his uncle's grip.

"Vernon? Vernon dear, punish the nasty ingrate after he makes breakfast. Last time you hit him so hard he couldn't standup to cook breakfast and poor Dudders nearly went hungry." Aunt Petunia called out as she went up the stairs to wake Dudley.

"Hmph." Vernon grunted and dropped Harry. Harry dropped with a thump and winced as he landed on the big bruise on his back from when Petunia had thrown a bucket at him for missing a spot when he was mopping the floor. That had resulted in a bigger mess where he had to clean it all up and was sent to his cupboard that night without his dinner scraps after being beaten by Vernon for causing trouble.

He slowly got up and limped to the kitchen and stove, favoring his left leg where Dudley had kicked him. He got out a frying pan and turned on the stove. He got out some eggs and juice from the fridge and poured the juice into a glass while waiting for the pan to heat up. Quickly he carefully poured some cooking oil into the pan. As he started to fry the eggs, Dudley stumbled into the kitchen and headed directly for the juice and began gulping at it. Harry rushed about; setting the table, putting bread into the toaster, setting the fried eggs on the table, and pouring a cup of coffee and tea.

Vernon toddled into the kitchen wearing his second lucky shirt with Petunia right behind him. They sat down and only then did Harry grab a slice of toast and a cup of water that served as his breakfast. He quickly gobbled most of it down, saving a small corner, just in time to hear the daily mail come though the slot on the door.

"Dudley, get the mail," Vernon rumbled as he drank his coffee and read the morning paper.

"Make the freak get it," Dudley whined through a mouthful of eggs.

"Fine. Boy get the mail." Vernon grumbled, getting slightly annoyed.

Harry quickly got up and fetched the mail. There was nothing interesting; just some bills and the occasional ad. He handed the pile of letters to Vernon, relieved that Uncle Vernon had forgotten his anger over his shirt. Then he stood by Aunt Petunia to hear his chores for that day.

Petunia glanced up from her magazine, sipped her tea and said, "Today I need you to wash the dishes, mop the floor, dust the living room, fold the laundry, clean the windows, mow the lawn, weed the garden, water the garden, and make dinner."

Harry nodded and picked up the dirty dishes, brought them to the sink and began to wash them. Once he was done, he set off to gather the mop and bucket for the next task. Soon the floor was nice and shiny and he began to dust the living room. After that was done, he went to the washing machine and dryer and neatly folded all the clothes in minutes.

Cleaning the windows was slightly more tedious and took a little more time than any other chore since it was not one he did on a regular basis but soon that was also done. Now it was for the outside chores; the ones he both hated and loved.

As he went to the outside shed for the lawnmower and other garden tools, he spied an inky shape in the corner of his eye. Once he reached the shed and went inside for the materials, a black blur hit him in the side.

"Oomph." He huffed as he nearly fell with the momentum from the hit. He looked down into mismatched red and purple eyes, fluffy pointed ears, and a long sleek tail.

"Hiya Neko," he whispered, patting the petite black and white cat. He set her down and tried to give her the crust of bread he had saved for her. As usual, she turned her nose, but not before gently setting down the small bunch of grapes in her mouth. He smiled and ate the dry bread with the small offering of fruit that seemed like heaven to him.

She purred and rubbed her head against his leg. He could never forget the night he had met her.

* * *

_Flashback_

* * *

_It was raining really hard. Harry shivered as tried to hurry back as fast as he could. Aunt Petunia had sent him to the store in the middle of a rainstorm for peppermint candy that Dudley wanted._

_As he stumbled near an alley, a dark shadow loomed from it. He tried to change his path but crashed straight into it. He nearly screamed when the figure grabbed onto him with a vice-like grip._

"_Little one," the figure gently crooned. "What are you afraid of?"_

_Harry, who was five, was both terrified and a bit curious. He had heard aunt Petunia tell Dudley to not talk to strangers and especially dark hooded men. But the voice that had whispered to him was definitely female._

"_Little one," the figure crooned again. "What are you afraid of?"_

"_Being alone." Harry whispered back._

_The figure leaned closer and murmured, "What do you want?"_

"_A friend." Harry breathed back._

"_Very well," the amusement could be clearly heard in her voice as she muttered. "Take her. She comes from a very distant land and all she wants is someone to love and to love her."_

_Harry gasped as a tiny black and white kitten and placed in his grasp. When he looked up the cloaked woman was gone._

"_Meeew!" The tiny thing mewed pitifully as it began to become drenched in the icy storm surrounding them. Harry came to his senses and quickly gathered the candy and ran to the cover of a bus stop to gain at the very least some protection from the elements. When he looked down again at the kitten he was shocked at the sight of its eyes._

_The right eye was a deep purple, both bright and velvety dark at the same time. The left eye was a crimson red, so vivid that it looked like freshly spilled blood. She was covered in patches of black and white fur with it turning silvery grey on the edges. Her front right and back left paws were black while her front left and back right were white._

"_Where am I going to keep you?" Harry murmured crestfallen. Not a single thought of giving her up passed through his mind. Only the various discarded plans of where to hide her went through his mind. He wanted to keep her so badly but there was nowhere to hide her really._

_Then he thought of the perfect plan. He would go back with the candy with her hiding in his shirt and give the candy to Dudley, all the while sneezing and coughing. While would most likely give something to help dry off. After all if he got sick they wouldn't get most of the chores done. Then, he'll get to keep the clothes, since Aunt Petunia felt the less something had to do with him the better. With that, he would get to keep the kitten while gaining some more clothes to keep it warm._

_With that in mind, he did everything he planned and it worked without a hitch. As soon as he was dry and in his cupboard with the slightly damp kitten, he finally realized he had forgot something. A name. She didn't have a name yet._

"_What should your name be?" he murmured._

"Neko." _Harry nearly jumped when he heard the low hissing sound that seemed to echo around._

"_What was that?!" Harry muttered, a bit shaken by the strangeness of it all. He looked down at the kitten who was sleepily blinking at him._

"_Do you like the name… Neko?" he asked hesitantly._

_She blinked twice at him and gave a big yawn, snuggled into his side, and started purring._

"_Okay then, your name is Neko." Harry said half to the newly dubbed Neko and half to himself._

* * *

_End Flashback_

* * *

Since then, he had snuck bits and pieces of food to her whenever he could. When she grew larger, he let her roam free outside. He still tried to bring food to her, but she had apparently decided at some point that he was far too skinny and needed more nutrition since she had started to refuse any food he gave.

She actually brought back little things she could carry for him to eat. It was usually some grapes, two or three cherries, and things like that. But sometimes she had the audacity to bring things that made him wonder where she was getting the food from. Once, he had found her carrying half a sirloin steak to him. He feared that she would one day get caught for stealing the food from wherever she got it from but so far she seemed completely okay.

Not only that, he had discovered she seemed to be able to get into the house. Whenever he called for her while in his cupboard at night after a particularly harsh beating, he thought he heard purring and felt soft warm fur just as he fell asleep. Sometimes he even dreamed of purple and red eyes, watching over him always. It wasn't creepy but comforting. Those dreams almost always changed into something different and ended with both eyes turning red right before he woke up. There was more to the dreams but he could never quite remember.

He sighed, patted Neko one last time, and trudged always to start his gardening chores. She mewed and darted under one of the rosebushes for both shade and a safe spot to watch him.

The afternoon slowly went by with Harry laboriously doing each outdoor chore. Neko stayed by his side for the most part, hiding in the shadows to keep from being seen by a nosy neighbor or worse, Petunia.

While Harry loved that he could see his little friend while gardening, it was very tedious. Although the gardening part wasn't too bad, it was the fact that he had to do it in the hot sun that made it so painstaking.

As he plucked the last weed for the day, he uncoiled the hose and turned on the water. Once all the hot water that had been sitting in the hose throughout the day was gone he watered the garden, occasionally playfully splashing Neko who darted out of the way for the most part.

Once he was done, he turned the water down and took a long drink. He then poured some water in the dented bowl he had squirreled away when he saw aunt Petunia throw it away. Neko gracefully padded to it, trying to avoid the worst of the puddles. She delicately lapped up several mouthfuls before butting her head against Harry's leg. She knew he would have to go in to cook his relatives' dinner now.

"Good girl, Neko. I'll see you tomorrow, 'kay?" he mumbled, crouching down to pet her once more before going inside. She meowed before turning around and flitting away.

Harry opened the door and trudged inside, carefully making sure to not dirty anything. If Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia saw any dirt, he would be punished.

He made his way into the kitchen and quickly began to gather all the ingredients for that night's dinner. He then started to diligently cook, fry, and bake, knowing that if anything was not to the approval of his relatives he might get sent to his cupboard without dinner. If he was lucky that is.

Finally he was done, just in time to hear Vernon's car pull up into the driveway. He set the table, carefully placing all the food, and hurried to open the door.

"Get out of the way you no-good freak!" Uncle Vernon snarled as he stormed inside. Harry just barely stumbled away as to not get hid on the head with the suitcase Vernon was swinging around.

"Vernon? Vernon honey, what's wrong?" Petunia's voice sounded concerned as she entered the kitchen with a magazine in her hand. She had read that and spied on her neighbors all day.

"I didn't get the bloody deal that's what's wrong! Mr. Fangpi took one look at me and didn't pay attention to me again through out the meeting!" Vernon began look even more menacing as he sat down and shovel food into his mouth with tasting.

Dudley waddled in at the moment, glanced at his father, and promptly sat down to devour as much food as he could. Petunia sniffed and also began to eat, but in considerably less portions.

Harry could only watch as all his hard work in making the food disappear in minutes. The smells were almost unbearable and he fidgeted; waiting for them to finish so he could what was left over.

Dudley managed to look up in the middle of swallowing a huge mouthful of food and his face wrinkled in what Harry guessed was a smirk. Harry felt his stomach drop; Dudley was up to no good at all.

"Hey Dad, the freak never folded the laundry. They're all over the floor in the laundry room. Even after forgetting to iron your lucky shirt." Dudley maliciously grunted. "I bet that's why you didn't get the deal. You didn't wear your luckiest shirt."

Harry froze in absolute shock, terror ran through his body as Vernon stopped eating and menacingly turned towards Harry. At that moment, Harry knew he just might not live to see the light of day.

"You damn freak! This is all your fault! We give you all this and this is how you repay us?! By making a mess and muddling up my job! We should never have taken you in!" Vernon roared as he started to stand up. At that point, Harry's brain kick in and he quickly tried to get as far away as possible.

"Oh no you don't, you bastard! You aren't getting away this time! I'm going to make you wish you were never born!" With three great strides, Vernon reached out and smashed the slim boy to the wall in the hall. "I should have known you'll do something like this you ungrateful little shit! I'm going beat that freakiness right out of you!"

With that, Vernon pulled back and swung his fist around, smashing it straight into Harry's stomach. With Harry gasping for breath on the floor, Vernon started to viciously kick him, again and again. Harry tried to curl into a ball to try to protect himself but unfurled and screamed when Vernon stomped on his right leg.

"That's what you get for doing anything freakish in this house!" Vernon bellowed as he started to punch Harry viciously.

Dudley suddenly spoke up. "Hey Dad, can I help? He's such a useless lump! I want to try!"

Vernon settled back with a groan and grunted to his son. "Go ahead, it'll show it who's the boss around here!" With that, Dudley got up and started to punch Harry over and over.

Harry gasped as each blow brought a wave of intense agony throughout his being. Just as he thought he was going to die if any more hit him, they stopped. Then, he felt a new wave of pain on his neck as a hand grabbed him, and stuffed him into his cupboard.

"Hmph, that'll show him. If he tries anything we'll do this again and again till he gets it!" he heard distantly.

Every part of him ached and he was sure that some bones were broken. He just knew, instinctively, that if he didn't get help he would die there. Alone. Without even Neko. He tried to call for her, but his throat was too bruised. He couldn't even rasp out a sound.

'Help me!' Harry cried out mentally, wishing that his pleas would be heard somehow yet knowing it was hopeless. 'Help me! I don't want to die! Help me…'

As he faded from consciousness, he thought he heard a hiss.

"'_Harry Potter.'"_

* * *

To be continued…

* * *

Squee! My very first fan fic! Reviews are greatly appreciated! Flames will be used to create a giant bonfire to toast smores with my friends!

Review for me and Mr. Bunny!

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: My name is not J. K. Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter and I never will.

_"Parseltongue"_

"Normal speech"

'Thought speech'

_Flashback_

"Parseltongue in Flashback"

* * *

AN: Thank you so all so much for reviewing! It really helps encourage me to write faster! Review Thanks at the bottom!

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

The first thing Harry noticed was that he was warm.

He moaned and shifted a bit, only to find that he slid on something so soft and comfortable he felt like he was lying on a cloud. He tried to open his eyes but found that it was too bright and he immediately shut them.

"Awake now, little one?" a soft voice came from his right. Harry jerked up and scrambled left in fright, away from the source of the voice. He had nearly fallen from the bed when two strong hands latched onto his arm, preventing him from escaping further. Terrified he looked up to see not his Uncle Vernon as he'd expected but what seemed to be a blurry form of a man. He blinked rapidly and squinted to try and see who it was.

"Oh you can't see me can you little one? Here, your glasses." The man quietly said handing Harry his glasses which he immediately put on. Finally, Harry could get a good look at the man.

He seemed to be a man in his twenties with dark ebony wavy hair. He had a pale complexion, as if he didn't go out in the sun too often. But what drew Harry's attention the most were his eyes. Two vivid crimson eyes, the color of freshly spilt blood. They seemed to glow with an inner light, smothering as if they could see into his very soul. Harry shivered and lowered his eyes.

"Who… who are you?" Harry asked, stuttering in the utter turmoil he was feeling. "Where am I? How did I get here? Why doesn't it hur-"

"Shhh, slow down. You are in my manor in Scotland. I was the one who brought you here. I also healed most of your injuries, but it may take a while for all of them to completely heal." The man said patiently. "And as for who I am, you may call me Tom."

"But why?! Why did you help me? How could you have gotten me here? I don't understand!" said Harry anxiously. "And how can I be mostly healed, I'm sure some of my bones were broken!"

"Calm down! I heard you cry out for help. I apparated you to my manor and healed you through various spells and potions. It takes a while for some injuries to heal but should be completely fine in a day or two." Tom said calmly.

"Huh? What do you mean you heard me? What's does apar-apparated mean? And there's no such thing as spells and potions. Magic's not real!" Harry cried agitatedly.

"Not real?! You mean to tell me that those filthy Muggles never told you? That you don't know about magic and how you're a wizard?!" said Tom who was both astonished and infuriated. "How dare they deny you of your heritage! That you should be kept ignorant of what is your right is utterly inexcusable!"

"I'm a what?! Bu-but that's not possible! Un-Uncle Ver-Vernon said that word ma-magic was bad!" Harry stammered out.

"WHAT?!" Tom roared and leapt to his feet. At just over 6 feet, he made a very intimidating figure. Harry shrank back, not sure of what to make of him. On one hand he had apparently saved him, on the other he looked ready to kill. What Harry didn't know was that Tom was indeed angry enough to head over to Little Whinging, Surrey and start murdering the Dursleys. But when Harry let out a whimper from the killing intent Tom was leaking, Tom finally noticed the effect he was having on him.

"Oh I'm sorry little one. I didn't mean to scare you. It's just that the thought of someone growing up in such an environment is revolting to me. Combined with the fact that they kept you ignorant of such an important piece of yourself is utterly repulsive." Tom soothed. He hadn't meant to scare Harry. In fact he wanted Harry to like him.

Harry nodded slowly, wanting yet not wanting, to believe him.

"So I'm not a freak?" he asked hopefully.

Tom closed his eyes in despair. 'So similar.' He thought. 'Our lives seem to be so similar. That damn bumblebee must have had something to do with this.'

"No Harry, you are not a freak. You are just a little boy with magic. Anything bad that your relatives said about you was a lie. A lie you hear me." He said quietly, with his eyes still closed. He turned his face toward Harry and opened his eyes. Ruby met emerald. The pure honestly seen in his eyes made Harry's walls break down.

"'m not a freak. 'm not." He started sobbing. "Not. Not. Not." As he began chanting, Tom leaned forward and awkwardly enveloped Harry in a hug. Harry fisted Tom's silk shirt and soon it became damp with tears. The weeping slowly subsided to a few hiccupping sobs and then it stopped altogether with Harry limp in Tom's arms.

"Harry?" Tom said quietly. A tiny snore was his response. Chuckling, he tried to get up only to find Harry was still tightly holding onto his shirt. Pausing, he made up his mind and crawled onto the bed beside Harry. After drying his shirt with a sweep of his hand, he awkwardly held Harry to him. Harry immediately snuggled towards the warmth Tom provided.

Chuckling again, Tom hissed, "_Sleep well, my little snakeling."_

* * *

Meanwhile at Hogwarts

* * *

Tweeeeet! Tweeeeet! Tweeeeet!

A shrill whistle rang over and over in the headmaster's office causing many portraits to be roused from their dreams.

One hot-pink and aqua robe wearing headmaster tried to cover his ears with his pillow in the adjacent room to no avail. If it were possible the whistle began to shrill even more loudly. Finally one of the portraits, a Phineas Nigellus Black, cried out. "ALBUS DUMBLEDORE COME HERE AND STOP YOUR WHISTLE'S INFERNAL SHRIEKING!"

Unable to take the combined assault of both the portrait's yelling and the shrill whistling, Dumbledore finally forced himself to get up to check what was the matter.

Picking up the orange and lime-green whistle, he spoke the password in which to activate command that stops the whistle and revealed what was the source of the emergency. The whistle gave one last extremely loud shriek, as if to annoy the already annoyed occupant of the office, and spat out a small slip of pink paper out of the mouth of the whistle. Dumbledore took one look at the paper and paled drastically.

**At 21:17 pm Harry Potter was removed from Little Whinging, Surrey, England.**

Albus Dumbledore was now wide awake and was feeling the beginnings of a headache that would likely rival the one he had when he was told Honeydukes was considering discontinuing lemon drops.

* * *

Back at Slytherin Manor

* * *

"Hmmn…" Harry sighed as he slowly gained consciousness. He was enveloped in warmth. Never had he ever felt so comfortable. He snuggled into his breathing pillow to try and sleep some more before Aunt Petunia came to wake him up. 'Wait a minute. Breathing pillow?' His eyes snapped open to the sight of a silk covered chest. He looked higher and blushed when he saw Tom's amused visage come into view.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Tom rumbled gently to Harry's ears. Harry blushed and started to scramble away. He was sure he wasn't allowed to stay on the bed. In his panic he nearly fell from the bed again. Tom only just managed to grab a hold of him before he tumbled off. "Be more careful. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"It wasn't a dream." Breathed Harry, amazed at the fact. He also was confused as to why Tom was being so nice to him. "Why are you so nice to me? I mean, thank you for helping me, but I don't know you. I don't think I've met you in my life."

"We have met but in the distant past when you only a young infant. As to why I'm so nice to you… Well I have a vested interest in you." Tom replied.

"Huh? What does vested mean? And why are you interested in me? I'm nothing special." Harry said, feeling both perplexed and dejected.

"Vested interest means a special interest in protecting whatever is to one's own advantage. Your relatives might not have thought so but you are a very special boy. I know that because I can feel it. Your untrained magic swirls gently around you from time to time. Just from the feel of it I can tell you're going to be powerful."

"You can feel my magic?" said Harry in wonderment. "How can you do that? I can't even feel it."

"Haven't you ever experienced a euphoria of something surging deep inside you at times? Especially when you are angry or scared?" replied Tom, watching closely as a look of puzzlement appeared on Harry's face. "Euphoria means elation, joy, and exhilaration. Comprehension flashed across Harry's face as well as excitement as Harry apparently remembered the events that it had occurred.

"I remember." Whispered Harry, so low that Tom almost didn't catch the last part. "I felt it when I ended on top of the school roof after being chased by Dudley."

Tom felt a surge of anger at the words. 'How dare those revolting Muggles do that to my Harry!' he seethed. He was pulled from his brooding by the sound of Harry speaking.

"-still doesn't explain why you can feel my magic." Harry said, curious. 'How did Tom feel my magic when I know he was there during those times.'

Tom debated on how to explain thing to Harry and finally decided on a portion of the truth.

"A long time ago when I first met you we… accidentally formed a bond. It connects us in a way that we can feel each other's emotions and can mentally communicate as well." Tom said carefully, omitting many of the details and distracting Harry with another piece of information.

"Oh, that's why you heard me! I tried to cry out for-" Harry stopped midsentence, horrified.

"For who?" Tom asked feeling an emotion deep in his chest that he could not quite identify.

"Neko!" Harry cried out. "I forgot all about her! She is going to be so worried! I need to find her!" Harry was horrified that he had forgotten his best friend in such a short time.

"Hold on, there's no way you could get to Little Whinging right now so calm down. Now tell me who this "Neko" is?" Tom was horrified to realize the emotion he was feeling was jealousy. 'Ridiculous, I've only really known him for a few hours, How can I feel jealous?' he thought, completely ignoring how he had felt when he had heard of the abuse Harry's relatives had done to him.

"Neko is my best friend! She's a cat that I got a long time ago!" Harry said agitatedly. Tom mentally sighed with relief and then immediately berated himself. 'I don't care. I am only taking care of him so he'll be loyal to my cause and not to that damn coot's.' He thought unconvincingly to himself. 'I'm only angry because I want him to be loyal to me and only me.'

"Tom." Harry whispered. Tom frowned and broke out of his musings to face him. "Tom, can you get Neko? Neko is my only friend. She was the only who didn't hate me and I don't want to lose her."

Tom shifted uncomfortably. He still distantly remembered what it was like to be alone with only a single creature friend. When he had had his first snake friend, he had cared deeply her. Later he had avenged her death by killing the pet rabbit of the boy who had beheaded her. He looked into Harry's distraught face and sighed. 'I will do this to make him trust me.' He thought to himself in vain; the argument sounded weak even to him.

"Alright, I will apparate to Little Whinging to search for your cat later. But first we have to get up and eat something." Tom said sternly.

Just then, Harry's stomach gave a loud rumble. He blushed and said, "Oh I guess I am a bit hungry." He heard a soft rumbling sound and looked up to realize that Tom was chuckling. 'He looks so amazing when he's laughing.' Harry thought a bit dazed. Embarrassed he tried to distract Tom by asking a question.

"What's apparate mean?"

Tom's chuckles slowly subsided enough for his to answer. "To apparate is to move from one location instantly to another. It is similar to the muggle idea of teleporting." He explained while getting up and walking to his wardrobe to look for a set of robes.

"Muggle?" Harry wondered aloud as he accepted a set of robes from Tom. He watched in amazement when with a swish of his hand, Tom had shrunk the robes into a small enough size to fit Harry.

"Yes, muggle. A muggle is a person who does not have magic. You and I are called wizards. There are three kinds of wizards; pure-bloods, half-bloods, and mud-bloods. Pure-bloods are those who were born from a wizarding family; they are usually considered the elite. Half-bloods are those who were born one magical parent and one muggle. Mud-bloods or muggle-borns as some people call them are those that are born to muggle parents. No one knows why they have magic. The opposite of mud-bloods are squibs. Squibs are people who were born with no magical ability but have two magical parents. You and I are both half-bloods." Tom lectured as he changed robes and helped Harry into his robes when he saw Harry struggling.

"We're half-bloods? So my Mum or Dad was a muggle?" Harry asked softly curious. He had never known anything about his parents. To hear anything made his heart ache for what he did not have yet he still wished to know more about the ones who had borne him into the world.

"No, both your parents had magic. You are considered a half-blood because your mother was a muggle-born." Tom replied.

"I thought you called them mud-bloods? Why are there two names for it?" asked Harry, his curiosity piqued.

"Well yes I did. However, generally mud-blood is considered an offensive term for muggle-born, which is more commonly accepted." Tom said a bit uncomfortably. "I generally use mud-blood but I use muggle-born when referring to someone I respect." Tom ushered Harry into the bathroom where they proceeded to brush their teeth and do other various morning activities. Through out this Tom constantly answered questions about this and that, slowly allowing Harry to become more comfortable with him. Harry was still a bit wary but much more relaxed when they finally sat down for breakfast.

"Boppy." Tom called. With a pop, a small creature appeared. Harry yelped and nearly fell from his chair. In from of him was a 2-3 feet tall creature with thin limbs, a huge head, and tennis ball sized eyes. What made it more bizarre was the fact that it wore a mini set of deep forest green wizarding robes.

"What is that?" Harry said cautiously, both curious and wary.

"Boppy is a house-elf. House-elves are magical beings who work for wizarding families. They do all the house-hold chores from cleaning to cooking." Tom replied, amused at Harry's reaction. Granted, he should have warned Harry but he couldn't help but give into his darker half, even if it were only minor things. "Bobby, please prepare two plates of eggs, bacon, and sausage with toast. I would also like some vanilla-bean coffee. What would you like to drink Harry?" he turned to Harry.

Harry could only stare at Tom. He was going to let him eat at the table with him. He had expected to at most only get a slice of toast and watch while Tom ate but this… He was offering to let him eat with him. Like Harry was his equal. Harry started to tear up and Boppy immediately panicked.

"Oh noes sirs! Boppy is sorry! Boppy is so sorry for upsetting Master Harr-" the poor house-elf cried ready to burst into tears.

"Shhh. It's alright Boppy, I don't think it was you who upset Harry." Tom said soothingly. "Harry? Harry what's wrong? Please don't cry."

"It's- It's just that I've never been allowed to eat with the Dursleys. I only got the leftovers or a slice of toast once they started eating. They've never ever asked me what I wanted or were as nice as you've been to me. I mean, you barely know me and are this nice but they…" at this he silently broken down in tears. Tom stood up and crouched by him and gently enfolded Harry in a hug that was less awkward then the ones he had given before. 'Those damn muggles will pay when I get my hands on them.' Tom silently vowed as he gently rocked Harry back and forth.

"Master Tom is a wonderful master! He is much kinder to Boppy and all the other house-elves than any other master. He let us take breaks and choose whatever we wish to wear. We is very proud to work for such a nice master." Boppy declared as she wiped away her tears with an enormous sky-blue handkerchief.

Harry smiled and managed to stop crying. When he looked up he saw that Tom's shirt was damp from his tears. Dismayed he chanced a glace at Tom's face, only to be stunned at what he saw.

Tom was looking at him with those warm scarlet eyes, his visage in a gentle expression. Tom patted Harry's head, wiped away his tears, and got up. He dried his shirt with a wave of his hand and asked Harry again, "What would you like to drink Harry?"

Trembling slightly, Harry softly replied, "I'd like to try some orange juice please."

"Boppy will get the food right aways sirs!" Boppy chirped enthusiastically. And with a pop, she was gone.

As they waited quietly, Harry peeked at Tom. As usual, he was quietly brooding away with a serene expression on his face. 'I think I'll peel the skin off their bodies while accioing each fingernail off.' Tom thought viciously as he plotted what to do with the Dursleys when he had the chance. 'Unfortunately, with the way things are going now, I won't have any real chances to go kill them as long as Harry is around. I think I'll let them live for now and when Harry is older we'll go together.' Tom thought ominously.

Just then, Boppy popped back in. Harry's mouth watered as he smelled the delicious food that was set before him. He hadn't eaten anything except for the grapes and toast from the day before. When he thought of the grapes he automatically thought of Neko and it tugged his heartstrings to think that he had in a way abandoned her.

Once he was sure he was allowed to eat, Harry dug in, eating as fast as possible.

"Slow down Harry. We don't want you throwing all that up later if you eat too much too fast." Tom admonished.

Swallowing his mouthful, Harry continued to eat but at a much slower pace. This time he managed to savor each individual favor he had never been allowed to eat except in cold scraps he snuck away. Once he was done he eagerly waited for Tom to finish. When Tom was done too, he waved his hand and the empty dishes disappeared. Harry frowned at the sight.

"Tom? How do you do that? I know you do it with magic but how?" Harry wondered.

"Normally most wizards and witches have wands. They speak an incantation, wave their wand in a certain way, and the spell shoots from their wand. There is also non-verbal spells where the spell caster only thinks their incantation and does not voice it. Another one is wandless magic in which no wand is used. It takes a strong wizard to do either one. It takes an extremely powerful wizard to do both." Tom explained. "Now, I promised to go look for Neko. I need you to visualize what she looks like. I will be using Legilimency to look into your mind to see what you see. It is similar to the muggle idea of mind reading."

Harry closed his eyes and thought hard about Neko. He thought about her sleek black and white fur and her dainty feet. He though about the way she refused the food he tried to give her and how her tried to help feed him. But the thing he thought about most was how beautiful her eyes were and how her left eye was exactly the same beautiful shade of ruby as his were. He felt a light nudging in the back of his mind but after a few probing feelings the pressure was gone and he opened his eyes.

"I'm going to go there and perform a special locating spell. It was specially made for lost pets. All you need is a visualization of the pet in mind. If that does not work, I'm afraid I won't be able to bring Neko here. It that alright Harry?" Tom asked quietly.

Harry nodded frantically, "Yes that's alright. Will I go there with you?"

"No, not now. It is too dangerous. I will explain when I come back. It shouldn't take more than ten minutes at the most." Tom said firmly.

"Oh, okay. Please bring Neko back." Harry pleaded.

"I'll try." With that, Tom vanished with the faintest of pops.

Harry paced frantically. Minute after minute passed with him becoming more agitated. Soon he was starting to imagine wild scenes of impossible situations that could have delayed Tom.

Pop.

Harry turned around so fast he nearly fell. When he saw Tom he nearly collapsed in relief. Then he noticed something was missing. Neko was not with Tom. Heart sinking he looked at Tom.

"I'm sorry Harry. I looked around repeating the spell many times. I even apparated around the area saying the spell. That was why I took so long. I'm sorry, I couldn't find her." Tom said sadly. With a great cry, Harry launched himself towards Tom and started to cry.

He cried over how Tom had tried so hard to help him. He cried over how he had lost his best friend. But he cried the most over how he felt he had betrayed Neko.

* * *

To be continued…

* * *

AN: Thanks again for reading this!

Ostensibly Lucidina: Mr. Bunny agrees and thinks he might set his plans into action soon.

potteraddict1210: Yay cookie! dances

Soler: Thanks for the tip! I changed it as soon as I saw your review. ;p

animegurl088: Why thank you!

VoicesInTheWalls: Thankies! ;)

Cursa: Thank you. I love HPLV nut sometimes it's so hard to find well-written ones. I hope this one will be consider good to you! ;p

Jynx101: Thank you! I have great plot plans for this fic!

Shizuka Yuui: Curious hmm? Did you guess right who was the voice? ;)

brandygurl016: I hope you liked my update!

Thanks again to all who read this. Those who faved this, put it on their alert, and/or reviewed; you make me feel so love! theatric sob

P.S. Mr. Bunny said he's going to try and make me update at least once a week. I have a lot of HW that I ignore in favor of this. (bleah HW)

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	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: My name is not J. K. Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter and I never will.

"_Parseltongue"_

"Normal speech"

'Thought speech'

_Flashback_

"Parseltongue in Flashback"

* * *

AN: Thank you again for reviewing! It helps encourage me to write faster! Review thanks are at the bottom!

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

Tom looked at the boy who had finally cried himself to sleep. The day had been a long and tedious ordeal. After trying to find that damn cat for Harry (through he had some suspicions about the furball from the things he saw in Harry's mind) he had come back to be faced with a hysterical Harry. It had taken nearly an hour to get him calmed down and throughout the day he had been like a zombie. No reaction at all. Sigh.

It wasn't as if he hadn't tried to find the furball of a cat. He had really apparated around to no avail. He had felt like a fool when he even tried calling out a few hesitant calls of "Neko." 'Damn cat. Now my Harry won't be as inclined to trust me if I had gotten it.' He brooded. Then he paused and backtracked. 'MY Harry? Since when have I started to refer to him as MY Harry?' It was too much. He needed to kill something to relax. Preferably something that screamed a lot.

He stalked out the bedroom and was nearly down the hall when he heard it. Hissing. Turning around towards the direction of the sound he quickened his steps. While it would be satisfying to torture something until its screams came out in gurgles due to choking on blood, the company he was seeking was much more relaxing.

"_Nagini." _he hissed when he saw her, pleased to see her. _"I trust that you trip went smoothly."_

An immense seven foot black cobra uncoiled from where it had been curled on the chair once it saw him.

"_Yes Tom, it did." _She hissed as pleased to see him as he was her. It had been a while since she had laid eyes on him. _"I have gathered much information on that old coot. It seemed that late yesterday he ran out of the Hogwarts grounds in a great hurry. He looked very worried. As soon as he was beyond the wards he apparated. When he came back, he looked even more agitated. It was also immensely satisfying to the see how distressed he was."_

"_He was most likely worried on how he had lost his precious 'weapon'_." Tom laughed devilishly. If Nagini's eyes could have widened they would have. However due to her being an snake she only slithered forward in eager anticipation.

"_So you've done it? You've taken their 'Savior' right from under their noses!" _Nagini hissed in excitement. Her Tom had planned this as soon as he had regained his body seven months ago. Oh what a night that was!

* * *

_Flashback_

* * *

Nagini could barely contain her excitement. Her Tom was getting his body back. She had known him since she was but a tiny hatchling and he a young snakelet that went to the school place he called Hogwarts.

_They had cared deeply for one another. He had confided to her everything and she protected him from everything in her power. That had not changed in his rise to power nor was it different now. After searching desperately for his soul (She had refused to believe that he was dead. She could sense deep inside her that he was still alive.) she finally found him in a dark forest in Romania._

_Sustaining him on her venom or 'milk', she had kept him alive until they had been stumbled upon by an unsuspecting wizard by the name of Quirinus Quirrel. The wizard was a fool who was lured in by Tom's honey-covered words that by the time he realized something was wrong, he was so ensnared that he was completely under Tom's control. Once that had been achieved Tom had taken her with him to see his former follower Lucius Malfoy._

_That man had immediately bowed down to Tom; begging for forgiveness and trying to appease her Tom's righteous anger. Tom, of course was quite angry that none of his 'loyal' followers that were free had tried to find him. So he had been punished. _

_Lucius' screams had been quite delicious. Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end and they had to get what they came for. They retrieved the diary that Tom had left with Lucius to protect some years ago and left with the warning that if Lucius were to breath a single word of his lord's return he would be wishing for quick death._

_They quickly made their way to one of their safe hideaways. Once there, Tom immediately forced Quirrel to start writing in the diary. By forcing the man to pour his life's energy into the diary, he managed to resurrect one of his horcruxes. Once the younger Tom was alive and corporeal and Quirrel was dead, both Toms discussed their options. Finally they agreed to merge. So now he was soon going to have a physical and tangible body._

_The power danced across Tom's figure as he agonizingly merged his fifty plus year old soul back into the sixteen year old horcrux. The end result was a figure that was spiritually in his early thirties but physically as young as someone in their early twenties. All those experimental potions had paid off._

"Nagini,"_ Tom hissed. She slithered forward eagerly; delighted that everything had gone so well. _"Let us go home to Slytherin Manor. I have some plans to partake in for young Harry Potter."

* * *

_End Flashback_Nagini broke out of her musings._ "What was that again?" _she asked, unsure she had heard right and that it wasn't some figment of her imagination._ "Let me get this straight. You apparated all over the place searching for some CAT?!" _She dissolved in hissing giggles.

* * *

"_He was attached to it." _He grumbled, annoyed that she found this funny._ "If I had gotten it he wound have been very grateful and more inclined to listen to me. And it would have saved me a whole lot of trouble. He cried a lot and was practically an Inferi all day."_

"_I do not appreciate being laughed at." _He huffed, slightly annoyed as well as embarrassed._ "Especially for trying hard to make someone HAPPY."_

"_I have not really laughing at you." _Nagini hissed, trying to hide her signs of mirth. _"I just find you slightly amusing. That's all."_

"_In which you laughed at me." _Hegrumbled. She was about to respond to that but was interrupted before she could utter a single hiss._ "Don't deny it."_

"_Alright I won't then" _Nagini said, laughter still bright in her eyes.

"_Anyway it has been a long night, would you like to retire now? I can introduce you tomorrow morning. Hopefully Harry isn't fearful of serpents." _Tom said and he stood up to leave. What he heard next made him freeze in utter shock.

"_Oh, no! I'm not scared of snakes!"_ The young voice of who could only be Harry's floated enthusiastically into the room. _"I think they're really cool. Your snake especially! I didn't know some animals could talk!"_

"_You understand what we were saying?!" _Tom hissed in surprise.

"_Umm, yeah. Why wouldn't I?" _Harry hissed uncertainty.

"_You don't realize you are speaking another language do you?" Tom _breathed in astonishment. He had certainly not expected this. For the young child to be a parselmouth was a gift to him indeed.

"_I am?!" Harry _cried out flabbergasted._ "How can I be speaking in another language without even knowing I'm doing so?"_

"_I do not know how this is so." _Tom hissed thinking of various possible reasons._ "This shouldn't be possible. Parseltongue is a rare trait that only occurs in people with Slytherin blood. As far as I know, you do not have any ancestors that married into the Slytherin line." _As he said this Harry shook his head slowly and began to shake in the strangeness of it all.

"_Calm down child." _Nagini hissed soothingly. She slowly slithered close to Harry and gently wrapped him in her coils. As she tenderly rocked him back and forth she continued._ "This does not make you any less of who you are. In fact his only makes you even more special. To converse with any serpent makes you our brethren."_

"_The bond… The bond we share must be connected in some way." _Tom muttered._ "Have you heard Parseltongue before? Have any snake ever come up to you and spoken with you?"_

"_No never! I mean I don't remember."_ Harry cried out._ "I didn't even know I was speaking another language! I don't know…"_ 'I'm a freak. I can't even be normal in a wizarding world.'

"_I'm a freak."_ Harry quietly uttered. Tom and Nagini snapped their heads toward him in shock. _"Even here, I'm not normal…"_

"_Shhh. Little snakeling, you are NOT a freak. You are special in a way that allows you to understand some that most do not. Many judge us serpents as evil creatures. Do you believe I'm evil?"_ Nagini softly hissed.

"_NO! You've been nice to me the moment you saw me. You tried to comfort me."_ Harry exclaimed, horrified that he had insulted her.

"_That is because you understand what I am saying to you. Others would have run away in fear at the mere sight of me slithering towards them. You understood why I came over and that I was trying to comfort you. Without the gift of Parseltongue do you think you would have reacted as calmly?"_Nagini reasoned.

"_Oh. I didn't think of it that way."_ Harry whispered. "_I just sorta… panicked."_

"_That's understandable. Now while this mystery is quite interesting, I would like to know why you aren't in bed and asleep?"_ Tom inquired, a bit amused.

Harry eeped and timidly said,_ "I had a bad dream. When I woke I decided to go look for you. I heard voices and followed them here."_ Harry chanced a glance at Tom. 'He doesn't look angry.' At that thought, Tom who had accidentally heard it, decided to speak.

"_I am not angry. I do however believe we all should go to bed now. It is late and there is much to do tomorrow."_ Tom said as he picked up both Harry and Nagini.

He carried them back to Harry's bedroom and gently set them down. He backed up to leave them when he heard a hesitant voice.

"Tom? Would- would you please stay?" Harry tentatively asked. He shyly peeked at Tom from under his covers. "I'm scared."

"Do not fear, little snakeling. Nagini will protect you." At Harry's slight look of dismay, he conceded. "However, if you wish, I will sleep her tonight." Harry perked up and eagerly scooted over and made room for Tom.

Tom chuckled a little and changed to his silken pajamas with a wave of his hand. He climbed onto the bed and slid close but not too close to Harry. Harry's only response was to close his eyes and snuggle into Tom's side. Tom chuckled again and relaxed. Soon both were drifting peacefully into the realm of Morpheus.

* * *

To be continued…

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AN: Yay, I managed to update. I've had a lot of schoolwork to do. It'll take awhile for the next chapter to get done though. Sigh

Thankies to the reviewers!

potteraddict1210: Nooo! The cookies?! Sniff I'll take the lemondrop though even when it reminds me of Dumbledore. :P

Jynx101: Thanks. And about the name, well… My nickname at school is Neko (combo of Neji and Anko who are Naruto characters) and I like it. Plus it will be explained further later in the story. -wink- ;)

brandygurl016: Don't worry, I'll try my best to update weekly. As for Neko… you'll see. ;P

Dreamweaver: -smiles- It's my secret! Don't worry, you'll find out… eventually. :P

tonksiscool: Thanks! Harry and Tom will get their revenge in due course. As for Tom not trying had enough… it's in this chappie! This goes for many of your questions. Don't worry, they'll all get answered in my story. See if you can find all the answers.

Prophetess Of Hearts: Just wait and see! ;P

Mr. Bunny says thanks for reading and reviewing! See if you can guess the what or _who _Neko is! I guarantee you won't figure this out since I thought this up. If anyone does before I post the chapter with the answers (which will likely be in Ch 4 or if I write too much, Ch 5), I'll add a pairing of your choice! (anything as long as it doesn't interfere with HPTR/HPLV) If no one gets it, I'll consider the pairing offered by the closest one to it. ;)

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	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: My name is not J. K. Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter and I never will.

"_Parseltongue"_

"Normal speech"

'Thought speech'

_Flashback_

"Parseltongue in Flashback"

* * *

AN: Thanks! Reviews encourage me to write faster! Review thanks are at the bottom!

Important! Read the P.S. for Mr. Bunny! It's about my 'GuessWhoNekoIs' thing.

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was worried.

Yesterday he had only been slightly concerned. He had been hoping that someone in the Wizarding world had seen Harry Potter and merely removed him for fear of his safety. The level of abuse directed toward Harry was appalling and perfect for raising Dumbledore's weapon.

If all poor little Harry knew was the cruelty of the Dursleys, then when he learned about the Wizarding world he would latch onto the first kind people he met. Dumbledore had carefully planned for that day. He would send the half-giant Hagrid to get the boy. The oaf loved him and would sing his praises to Harry. This influence would slowly turn the boy into a loyal little weapon who would do anything for him.

'Damn it!' he thought furiously to himself. He had no idea who had taken Harry. Almost as soon as he had arrived, he had known something was wrong. He did not feel the absence of the wards. That should not have been possible. The wards were to keep any magical persons from noticing the presence of one Harry Potter. The only ways for anyone to have known of where Harry lived was for someone to have already known or to have received an invitation, be it verbal or physical.

No one could have possibly told them since Dumbledore was the only one to know where Harry lived. He had cast a spell on the minds of both Minerva McGonagall and Hagrid after they had left to disregard the information of where Harry lived as unimportant and they should just forget. It had worked quite well so far; he didn't think it would have failed now. But that brought up the question of how someone had known where Harry was and where he had taken him.

"Merlin damn it all!" Dumbledore hissed in his frustration. He had gone into the house to find all traces of the boy still there. There was a shallow pool of blood in the indentation on the floor of the cupboard, showing the place where he slept. There was some small roughly drawn pictures of a cat done in a black crayon on the wall of the cupboard. Several scraps of rags lay scattered in the confines of the cupboard. But that was it. Nothing else in the house showed the slight hint of there being another individual living with the Dursleys.

The walls were covered with framed pictures of a porky child, a horse-necked thin woman, and a beefy bull of a man which Dumbledore assumed to be Dudley Dursley, Petunia Dursley nee Evans, and Vernon Dursley respectively.

He hmmed to himself, pleased. He had done a good job in placing Harry here. If Harry stayed here he would most definitely appreciate the one who brought him into the wizarding world. That is if he got Harry back. He could not understand how he couldn't find the brat. After checking to see if Harry was definitely gone and the alarm had not malfunctioned, he had gathered some blood and the crumpled drawing. With the blood and personal belonging of someone, he had a spell that could be cast to find them. However when he had cast the spell, nothing had happened. The spell was an extremely intricate and powerful work of magic and it should not have failed. The only times in which that particular spell would fail was if that person was dead or under an extremely powerful ward or obscuring ritual. Either way, it was not good.

If Harry was dead, there went his weapon and he would be in deep trouble. On the other hand, if he wasn't dead but under an extremely powerful ward or obscuring ritual, that wasn't good either. That meant he was with someone that was part of the wizarding world and most likely opposed him if they hadn't brought Harry to light. 'I rather the brat be dead than be raised against me.' Dumbledore thought angrily as he busily searched through the piles of paper for a suitable replacement for his weapon. 'Boot? No his family isn't too under my influence. They are more neutral than not. McLaggan? Too young. He might make a good replacement if my next weapon dies. Diggory? Hmm. He might be useful. His family's influence is good and they support me. Unfortunately it'll be quite difficult to get him to become loyal enough to die for me. Neville Longbottom might be good enough. He was the other candidate in the prophecy. He lost his parents and his current family does not hold him in high regard. It would be like taking candy from a baby. And I do love candy.'

Dumbledore chuckled and reached under his desk for his hidden stash of candies only to find it empty. He groaned. Today was definitely not going to be a good day.

* * *

Back in Slytherin Manor

* * *

It was too bright. Harry groaned and turned around trying to burrow into the sheets to escape the light. Once he was immersed in darkness, he sighed and relaxed. That is until he felt something sliding around his body. He froze in alarm, still somewhat dazed from sleep.

"_You're crushing me, little serpent-tongue."_ An annoyed voice hissed. Harry bolted from the bed before he could register what he had heard. When he looked back, he saw the serpentine black head of Nagini poke its way from under the covers.

"_It's too cold to be jumping around in your pajamas. Go wear some proper clothes."_ Nagini hissed, slightly amused at Harry's reaction._ "Tom left almost three hours ago for some business."_

Harry blinked and looked around spotting an elaborate cloak on the wall. It was almost eleven o'clock. 'Wow. I don't think I've ever slept that late in my life.' Harry thought as he made his way to the closet. He resigned himself to some overly large clothes for the day since Tom wasn't there to shrink anything. He opened the doors and gasped. Within the closet was a row of elegant clothes in his size right next to what he assumed to be Tom's.

'He thought about me.' Harry was touched by the gesture, slight as it was. He reverently lifted a silken emerald shirt and onyx trousers and rubbed his face on them. They were so soft and supple. He decided to wear them and padded over to the bathroom to get take a shower and ready for the day. Once he was done he put them on. They fit him like a second skin. He left the bathroom to head for the small dining room that he had eaten in the day before. He hesitantly called for the house-elf.

"Boppy." With a pop, little Boppy appeared with a delighted look on her face.

"Young Master Harry is calling me? What is Young Master Harry wanting?" she eagerly asked.

"Just Harry is fine Boppy. If it isn't too much trouble, could I have some toast and eggs with a glass of orange juice?" Harry said softly. He liked Boppy for all that she was too jumpy.

"Oh noes! Young Master Harry must be eating more to grow big and strong. I is making you eggs and ham and sausages and tarts and English muffin and milk with orange juice." She cried before popping away before Harry could convince her otherwise. As he sat there slightly dismayed at the thought of not being able to finish all that and wasting so much food he heard hisses to his right. Turning he saw the sinuous body of Nagini slither in.

"_Oh Nagini, please help me! When Boppy comes, will you help me eat some of the food she made? I can't eat too much in the morning; it makes me sick since I'm not used to it."_ Harry begged, determined not to waste food. After years of not being able to eat as much as he liked due to lack of food, he had gained the mentality of not wasting food. Now that he had the chance he still couldn't eat due to not being physically able to.

"_Very well my snakeling; just a little."_ Nagini hissed soothingly as she seethed inwardly. 'How dare they starve my snakeling. It is only from regularly not eating a lot or not at all that causes the inability to eat normal sized portions of food.'

Pop. Boppy popped back, laden with an enormous tray of breakfast goodies. Harry's eyes bulged when he saw it. 'I definitely won't be able to eat it all even with Nagini's help.' He thought to himself, dismayed.

"Young Master Harry must eat lots. He is a growing boy and needs his nutrients. Eat! Eat! Eat!" Boppy cried enthusiastically before disappearing again. Harry could only stare at the massive mountain of food.

"_Start nibbling little snakeling."_ Nagini muttered, amused at his predicament. _"And drink all you milk and juice!"_

He only spared her a grimace before tentatively trying a scone. It was like heaven on earth in his mouth. He eagerly tried it dipped in some cream, drizzled in syrup, and smeared with strawberry jam. All were absolutely delicious. As he finished the last of the scones and guzzled his glass of milk, he looked up to see the plate of ham and sausages being rapidly devoured by Nagini. He grinned and swiped a slice of ham and a link of sausage before they were inhaled into Nagini's gullet. He quickly gobbled them down. When she spared him a glance, he grinned cheekily at her with flecks of cream, syrup, and jam all around his face.

"_I'm a growing boy."_ She only laughed in response and swallowed over half the eggs and one of the two English muffins. He squawked indignantly and reached for the rest of the food before they also disappeared.

"_Then eat. Put the eggs inn the muffin and eat it with a square of melted butter on top. And don't forget your orange juice."_ She advised. He did as she said and nearly moaned at the burst of flavor. The fresh muffin with the delicate eggs topped with the creamy butter was overwhelming. After living most of his life eating plain food or eating cold scraps, the food he had eaten in Tom's home was like a slice of heaven.

Finally he finished his makeshift sandwich he thirstily gulped down his glass of orange juice and pushed the tray away from him with a satisfied grunt. He was stuffed to the brim. Nagini watched him with the corner of her eye, remembering what Tom had said to her before leaving that morning.

* * *

_Flashback_

* * *

"Nagini."

_Nagini blearily stirred from the warm covers and looked up to see her Tom's face._

"Yesss."_ She hissed groggily. She glanced at the clock. Eight o' seven. It was much earlier than when Tom usually got up. He must have something urgent to do. Normally he'll sleep until ten or nine at the earliest. The luxury of extra sleep was one he enjoyed greatly even years after the fact of being forced up at six daily at the orphanage._

"Nagini when Harry eats breakfast today I need you to make sure he drinks all his milk and orange juice." _Tom hissed with great importance._

"Hmmm? Why?"_ Nagini was a little more awake now. 'Why does Tom want Harry to drink all his milk and orange juice?'_

"Because I have ordered Boppy to mix nutrient potions and a stomach easing potion in them. From what I could tell from my observations, those damn relatives of him periodically starved him and only gave him enough food so as to survive. So in order to correct this, he must start taking nutrient potions so his growth will not be permanently stunted." _Tom stressed._

"The stomach easing potion must be to allow him to eat larger portions, right?" _Nagini asked, wide awake now. She felt anger toward those muggle for starving a wizard, much less her new snakeling._

"Yes, it is. However, if I know Boppy, she will likely make a whole mountain of food, making it impossible for him to finish everything. Help him eat some to prevent him from eating too much. The stomach easing potion can only do so much." _Tom emphasized_. "I am counting on you Nagini."

"Don't worry, I know the proper amount. After all, I had to take care of you." _Nagini hissed sadly._ "Where are you going? I'm sure the snakeling will miss you."

"I must take care of some business. I need to start regathering my followers. I might bring some back tonight. So make sure he is in bed before seven if I am not home by then. If he wants to read something he may go to the library as long as he does not destroy anything in there."_ Cautioned Tom._

"Stop being such a worry-wart. I know how to care for a wizard hatchling."_ Nagini complained. 'I took care of you all those years, after all.'_

"I know. I just want you to be extra careful. Harry doesn't seem to be one for trouble. But you never know… it's always the quiet ones, remember." _Tom smirked and reminisced. Oh, he had always been quiet. Never purposefully drawing attention to himself unless it was absolutely necessary. Hidden behind his façade of quiet politeness was a storm of emotions and power._

"I will."_ Nagini watched quietly as Tom, with a nod, swept out of the room, leaving Nagini in darkness to ponder the level of attention Tom bestowed on Harry._

* * *

_End Flashback_

* * *

"_Nagini where's the library?"_ Harry's voice brought her out of her reminiscing. She turned her head toward him.

"_Why do you ask?"_ Nagini was curious. Her Tom was very knowledge-hungry when she met him. 'Actually he still is.' However, she was interested to see if Harry was as well.

"_I want to see if there is anything I can read. Last Back at the Dursleys'__house, I had nothing to do once I was forced back into my cupboard. So eventually I taught myself how to read and snuck books in. it wasn't too hard. All I had to do was hide one of the many books that Dudley got but never read in my cupboard while cleaning. Once I had to go back in, I would read by the light shining through the cracks. New moons were like torture; it was too dark to read and it really sucked if I was at an exciting part too." _Harry explained. As he began talking, Nagini had started slithering out the door. Assuming she wanted him to follow her and that she was leading him to the library, he trotted along behind her.

"_Later when I found Ne-"_ Harry choked slightly and paused before continuing. "_Neko I would find nice books in my cupboard once in a while. Before when I still had her with me in the cupboard, I would quietly read some stories to her." _Harry fell silent at this.

"_Tom has the largest library in all of Great Britain. He actually had two but the one in his study is much smaller and contains all the research material he usually needs. The other one may be one of the largest in Europe. His collection of books consists of the lost Slytherin Library, some shelves of the Alexandrian Library, some shelves of books from Atlantis, and even some books from the Libraries of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. He also picked up many books and scrolls from his travels around the world."_ Nagini said in a way of distraction. At the look of wonderment the flashed across Harry's face she smugly added some more.

"_He even received several scrolls and books from the Asian Youkai tribes that reside in China and Japan. Those contain valuable information on special spells and their like. They also hold information on the general biology of a few tribes such as the Kitsuneko tribe and the Hebi tribe."_ They finally reached a set of impressive massive doors. Nagini beckoned Harry to open them with a twist of her head.

"Wow." Harry gapped in astonishment at both what Nagini said and what he saw when he went through he doorway. Row upon row upon row of books lay neatly shelved across the countless shelves. The room was huge and filled to the brim with information in the form of book, scrolls and other various items. Harry was practically drooling from what Nagini could tell.

"_You may look at some book as long as you do not damage them."_ Nagini said upon deaf ears. She could only watch in amusement as Harry walked up to my shelf and pulled out a book, _The History of Dark and Light magic; it's Evolution and Mutation_. He cradled the ancient tome in his hands reverently before gently opening it and smoothing out the pages to find the contents page.

He slowly made his way to one of the soft cushioned chairs before settling into it to bury himself into his book. Nagini only hiss-chuckled and curled up on a chair to take a nap. Eating all that would take a while to digest.

* * *

Nagini woke up with a start. Something wasn't right. 'Harry!' she thought panicky. Harry was no longer in the library. The book was carefully placed on the chair in which he had sat. An emerald green ribbon was tucked a quarter from the first page; marking how far he had read.

"_Harry!"_ Nagini hissed anxiously. He wasn't here. She had to find him. she glanced at the clock only to stare for a moment when she saw that it was seven o' six. Tom would be home by now with some Death Eaters. She shot out of the room like lightning and that's when she saw it.

Harry was plastered against a wall; gazing up in fear at the figure towering above him. It was the Death Eater Macnair. He had a nasty grin on his face. That was when the malicious man reached for Harry.

Nagini saw Tom striding angrily toward them in the corner of her eye, followed by his Death Eaters. His face was like a dark storm cloud. She herself tried to get to Harry before the filthy man could touch Harry. As she slithered toward Harry as fast as she could, a streak of black and white raced past her and slammed onto the back of Macnair's head.

"_**ROOOWWWRRRR!"**_

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To be continued…

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Thanks for reading!

Special thanks to those who reviewed!

Prophetess of Hearts: Don't worry! ;)

potteraddict1210: Cookie… Yum. Sirius will definitely be in my story. I really love him and the Weasley twins.

Jynx101: ;)

ReviewsGalore: Thanks for reviewing my fic. Please send me an PM with tips on how I could improve this.

VoicesintheWalls: Thank you! ;)

Poisonbelle: Thanks! Guess again! You deserve a cookie for trying though!

TuxedoKamenLuver: Guess again! You're right about her not being an Animagus though. You get a cookie for trying though!

Dreamweaver: You'll see. ;)

MangaMan3000: Glad you liked it. I don't like Vernon (as seen in this fic) either!

puffin: Right about it not being Lupin but it's not Moody, Tonks, or McGonagall either. You also get a cookie for trying though!

theREALmeaningofinsane: Thanks!

disgruntledfairy: I'll try to update quicker but no guarantees. It'll most likely be once a week.

Notorious-Osaka: Thankies! You get a cookie for reading my stuff this early(late?). That's actually when I usually update. That and around five or six. Cookie!

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P.S. Mr. Bunny is scolding me for not mentioning that Neko is not an atual HP character. She is someone I made up. My guessing poll was actually to see if anyone could guess WHAT she was, not who. My mistake, gomen nasai (sorry in Japanese). Please see if you can guess again. I have clues in this latest chapter.

P.S.S. I will be replying to reviews through the proper speech bubble thing (unless they are anon. then I'll reply on chappie) instead of on the chapter from this chappie on (takes too much space). I will still list the ones who reviewed! Thanks Again! Reviews make me happy and type faster!

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	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: My name is not J. K. Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter and I never will. I don't own Naruto either.

"_Parseltongue"_

"Normal speech"

'Thought speech'

_Flashback_

"Parseltongue in Flashback"

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AN: Thankies! Reviews make me write much faster!

**IMPORTANT!!**The reviewer who was closest to the answer is located at the bottom. What the prize is… it's there too. ;)

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Chapter 5

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"Aarrgghhh!"

Striding forward, Tom watched in amazement as something black and white attacked the back of Macnair's head. The Death Eater screamed and twisted around trying to reach the creature but to no avail. It just hissed and shifted positions. Macnair was withering and jumping around, desperately trying to dislodge the black and white projection when Nagini reached him.

With lightning fast reflexes, she twisted around his legs, tripping him. As he fell he gave a particularly loud screech of agony before finally managing to extricate the creature. It fell within a few feet of Harry, who was still against the wall and watching the proceedings with wide eyes. Tom felt a flicker of concern toward Harry, fearing that this wild animal might attack Harry, when he finally managed to take a good look at what it was. What he saw almost had him mentally reeling in shock.

Flecks of blood blemished midnight black and snow white fur. Delicate paws with deadly claws was stained with streaks of the ruby liquid. A single drop fell from jaws filled with razor-sharp teeth. Mismatched but hauntingly beautiful eyes stared up with a gaze as menacing as it was chilling. One was an intense shade of purple, sparkling with the radiance of amethysts. The other was a startling scarlet, as crimson as the life liquid that pooled small puddles around it. The feline-like creature crouched in front of Harry, shielding him from the gaze of both Tom and the rest of the Death Eaters. Two silky furred tails waved gently to and fro; one black tipped in white, the other white tipped in black.

"N-neko?" Harry's voice seemed to break the spell of stillness that utter shock had brought upon everyone.

Tom flicked his hand and stunned Macnair. He turned slightly to his side and discreetly ordered his Death Eaters to take Macnair to the dungeons. When he turned back around fully, his eyes widened at what Harry was doing. He had moved away from the wall and was slowly approaching the creature. Tom resisted the urge to stun Harry and the creature when Harry hesitantly reached toward it.

Nagini, who had untangled her body from Macnair to allow the Death Eaters to remove him, coiled her body, ready to spring at the slightest hint of aggression.

The tension in the air was almost tangible when Harry's hand finally brushed against the soft and silky fur on its head.

"Neko? Neko, it's me girl. It's me Harry. Don't worry, we're safe here." Harry murmured softly while softly stroking the fur. Tom and Nagini relaxed slightly when the tension loosened from the presumed Neko's body. She turned her head a bit, gently butted her head against Harry's hand and began to purr in loud rumbling vibrations. Tom and Nagini stiffened again when suddenly Harry threw himself upon Neko, sobbing wildly.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry Neko! I left you! I didn't mean to. I asked Tom to go find you but you weren't there. I missed you so much. I was so scared that I would never see you again." Harry blubbered and sniffed. Then he visibly attempted to compose himself a little and tried to be more cheerful. "At least you look okay. You even grew! You weren't even one fifth this size when I saw you two days ago! You're the size of a Labrador now. What did you eat?! A pig?!"

Neko just sniffed a bit and batted him gently with one of her tails. That was when he noticed them.

"You have two tails! How did you get another tail?!" Harry exclaimed. As he chatted with Neko, Tom contemplated the information he had just observed. No normal animal, much less a cat, could grow so big in such a small amount of time. The eyes were also not normal. Some cats could have purple eyes and albinos have red eyes. There were cases of cats with one blue eye and one green eye but never a purple eye and red eye. Not only that, there was no way a non-magical creature could have two tails. It didn't even look completely like a cat. It had some very distinctive vulpine features that included the slightly elongated muzzle, long strong legs, and large fuzzy ears. But it still had many of the cat characteristics of retractable claws, long flexible furred tail, facial muscles to bare fangs, and the ability to purr. It was a combination of both animals, merged into one perfect creature with the grace of a cat and the endurance of a fox.

No creatures resembled this "Neko." Except one. In a trip to Asia, there was many clans of demons. There was one clan called the Kitsuneko clan that was a hybrid tribe that was created when kitsune demons (or fox demons) integrated and mated with neko demons (or cat demons). There was no mistaking it. The creature must be from that tribe.

And the tails. Demons were ranked by how many tails they had. Tails were a sign of power. The more powerful they were, the more tails they grew. For Neko to have two tails would mean that she had either hidden her power from Harry for a while or become more powerful in the time it took for her to find the castle. The former was more likely. But that brought Tom a whole new problem. How could she have found the manor's location much less broken through the wards and reached Harry and by default, them?

'I knew that the Kitsuneko clan was advanced in their magic but not that advanced. There are hundreds upon hundreds of wards placed upon Slytherin's manor by his descendants and Salazar himself. I even placed a several blood wards. It should have been able to stop an army of thousands from finding the manor.' Tom mull over his thoughts, frustrated. 'This little two-tailed Kitsuneko demon slipped through them all!'

"Who are you?" Tom's question abruptly stopped Harry's rambling mid-sentence. As he turned toward Tom in confusion, Neko closed her eyes as if in thought.

"Tom, who are you talking to?" Harry wondered aloud. Tom was about to repeat his sentence when a low hissing brought everyone's attention toward Neko.

"_My name is Tetsumi. I am the daughter of Lady Taisho of the Kitsuneko Clan and Lord Hachuu of the Hebi Clan." _Vibrant eyes had opened as sibilant hisses issued from Neko's mouth as she gazed into Tom's eyes. She visibly shuddered and right before their eyes, burst into dark purple flames. Harry yelped slightly and jumped away but soon realized that the flames did not burn. Within a few seconds, the flames died down and in their place stood a young woman who looked to be no older than seventeen. Long sleek midnight black hair rested upon pale skin. Furred cat ears adorned the top of her head. Two long silky tails swept behind her. As she bowed, her silken black and white yukata rustled in the silence. When she looked up, her mismatched eyes were burning with something unidentifiable.

"_I am the one whom Harry calls Neko. I have been his friend and companion for over two years. I wish no harm upon him or his friends. However, I will do everything in my power to insure that Harry is happy and safe."_

Harry could only stare in shock as his long-time friend revealed an immense secret. Neko was not a cat. She knew about magic and could even talk. Her name wasn't even really Neko.

"I-I don't… What do… Why… I don't understand!" Harry cried in frustration and confusion. He didn't know what to think. He didn't want to lose Neko. She was his friend. But she had kept such an important secret from him. Then he realized something else.

"You knew!" He shouted almost hysterically. "You knew I was a wizard! You knew I had magic! Why didn't you tell me?! Why didn't you ever talk to me?!" Harry felt betrayed. She had known all this time that he was a wizard. That he wasn't he wasn't a freak. Tom and Nagini tried to reach Harry but he pulled away. "WHY?!"

"_Because I didn't want you to hate me."_ Neko's quiet admission silenced Harry. _"Because I knew you would go off to the Wizarding world and find someone else to watch over you. Because I knew you would leave me behind. Because I didn't want you to forget me."_

"Why- why would I forget you?" Harry whispered. "You meant everything to me."

"_I am a demon. My parents were sworn enemies of two different clans. My mother, the only one who loved me, tried to hide my heritage. She called me "Neko" in an effort to mislead her husband into thinking I was his. She loved me but in the end, she died because her treachery was eventually discovered. She was executed right in front of me. I have never known my true father. My whole clan tried to kill me. I was a mistake. I am unwanted. I am seeped in sin. I am a product of adultery."_ Harry's face looked horrified as each statement was said. _"Why would anyone love me once they knew who and what I am? Once I told you about what you were, I would have to tell you about me. I cannot lie to you. You are my only friend. You are my everything."_

Neko looked down, unable to meet Harry's eyes. She felt a whirlwind of pain and fear swirl within her. She had known that someday she would have to tell Harry everything but had not thought it would be so soon. And once she had started, she couldn't stop. Confession after confession that had wallowed in her soul bubbled out of her mouth. Her soul was laid bare and at the mercy of a seven year old boy who was felt confused and betrayed. He could save her or completely destroy her with a single sentence.

Just as she began to despair that he hated her utterly, Harry finally spoke.

"I- I don't hate you." He calmly. "I'm just sad that you couldn't tell me. I don't care if you're a demon. I wouldn't care even if you were the devil incarnate. You are my friend. I care about you. No matter what, I would never hate you for being what you are." Neko looked into Harry's eyes to see absolute acceptance. She hadn't seen that since she was only a little kitling playing in front of her mother.

She completely broke down. It had been so long since tears had run down her cheeks. Not even when her big brother had recoiled in horror of her when she first spoke parseltongue, had she shed a single tear. She hadn't cried when everyone shunned her and her mother when suspicions arose about her heritage. She hadn't shed a single tear when her family tried to murder her and her clan ran her out of the village. She hadn't even cried when human hunters had caught her and tried to kill her. She had forgotten how to cry when her mother was viciously ripped apart right in front of her. Everything was hidden deep inside; locked behind a wall of ice. Everyone disliked her for her stoicness and lack of emotion. She was afraid to cry. To cry was to show weakness. But somehow she didn't feel weak at the moment. She felt strong.

* * *

Tom was shocked by the revelation that had occurred in front of him. Harry's "Neko" had turned out to be a highly intelligent magical being that had most likely learned a great deal of the ancient magicks that the Asian magical community had guarded zealously for hundreds of thousands of years. This was an opportunity of a lifetime. He had already gained some of Harry's trust. The boy probably liked him and saw him as a father figure or a friend.

He would have to make her trust him through Harry and convince her to part with her secrets. That shouldn't be too much of a problem. He had been well liked when he had originally visited the Asian continent. The Kitsuneko clan had respected him enough to give him some lesser secrets. The Hebi clan had considered him as almost one of their own. His parseltongue had gained him a lot of standing in the snake demon community. Him having a serpent familiar and a basilisk at his command had made him very well respected among the royal snake demons.

Lord Hachuu was the current High Lord and had been for over seventy years. He and his line was said to be descended from the Demon Hebi Orochimaru. Their most distinctive attributes were their amber yellow eyes, long silky midnight black colorings, and their ability to shift-shape their body. Tom had gained a lot of knowledge on the workings of the soul from some royal scrolls they had allowed him to see.

Apparently, the Demon Hebi Orochimaru was very obsessed with the idea of immortality and had researched it thoroughly through many ghastly experiments on humans and demons alike. The scroll mentioned that he had created some sort of spell, or jutsu as the Asian magical communities called them, that transferred his soul from being to being, allowing for an extended life. It wasn't true immortality but it was to buy time to do more research.

However, it seemed that he was eventually destroyed by the nine-tailed Demon Kitsune Naruto and his mate the nine-tailed Demon Neko Sasuke. That was when the enmity between the Hebi clan and the Kitsune and Neko clans began. Eventually, through the kits of the nine-tailed Demon Kitsune Naruto and his mate the nine-tailed Demon Neko Sasuke, the Kitsune clan and the Neko clan merged to form the Kitsuneko clan.

There was no other pertinent information beside the notes he had taken from Orochimaru's notes and the brief history of the clans. He had thanked Lord Hachuu for allowing him to see them and begun his own research. At the time, he had not noticed anything strange about Lord Hachuu. Perhaps he had had his affair with his rival clan's mate at another time. Maybe he was extremely good at hiding his thoughts. Either way, Tom would have never thought the dark Lord Hachuu would ever have any sort of relationship with the light and bubbly Lady Taisho.

She was everything he was not. She was kind and gentle while he was harsh and unforgiving. He ruled with an iron fist while she was carefree. He was the very image of a descendant of Orochimaru; long silky black hair, amber-yellow eyes, and pale skin. She looked vastly different. With hair as white as snow, her purple eyes were like jewels set in a face as pale as moonbeams. She was very playful and energetic and it was very visible by the way her furry ears twitched or the way her tail shifted.

They were like yin and yang. Fate had to have opposites attract and they could not escape. Tom shuddered and vowed that fate would never do such a thing to him. As luck would have it, fate had decided to listen in at the very moment. Later when he reflected on it he would always wonder if things would have been different if he hadn't made that vow.

* * *

Nagini was in a state of incredulity. In a matter of minutes, she had been presented with a royal descendant of the Demon Hebi Orochimaru and that she barely knew anything of her heritage. It was ridiculous.

Now she could see what Tom had felt, retrieving Harry from those unworthy muggles. As she watched the debacle calm down she began to plan. She would tell Tom of course but only after she had finished her preparations.

She needed to go visit Lord Hachuu. All serpents knew of the Hebi clan and while few ever saw them, they were expected to know all about them. Alter all, almost all creatures had developed from a demon at some point. They were the ancestors of modern day animals.

She was certain that Lord Hachuu would not abandon a hatchling of his. He, while vicious and cruel at times, was actually a very considerate being for his kind. He most likely did not know of Neko's existence and therefore never sought her out.

It was almost inconceivable to Nagini that anyone would try so hard to kill a hatchling. Raising it as your own and gaining its loyalty was a much better way of taking care of things. 'Stupid Kitsunekos.'

As Nagini planned her visit, she was picked up by Tom.

"We should go to sleep now. It is quite late. There is much to discuss." At that point he gave a pointed look toward Neko. She blushed a little and looked down. "So let us all adjourn to bed. Now, Miss Tetsumi-"

"Neko." Tom glanced at her when she interrupted. "I would prefer to be called Neko. Thank you."

"Very well. Neko, would you like a separate room or would you like a bed placed with Harry?" Tom asked. She looked at him and then quickly stole a peek at Harry who looked dead on his feet. She burst into flame again and became her fox-cat self again.

"_I will stay like this for the majority of the time as I am most comfortable in this form if that is aright with you."_ When Tom inclined his head she continued. _"I would also prefer to just curl on Harry's bed. I do not require another bed."_

"That is fine." Tom answered. He turned to find Harry asleep standing up. Apparently the excitement was too much and had tired the poor boy out. He levitated him all the way to his bed and set him under the covers. He performed a gentle scrougify, which Harry only giggled to, and vanished his clothes and replaced them with pajamas when he was under the covers. He left the room as Neko climbed onto the bed and snuggled into Harry's side.

He quietly left the room and crossed the hall to his own master bedroom. After taking a quick soak in his grand bathtub to unwind, he slipped under his covers next to Nagini and fell asleep contemplating the enigma named Harry.

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To be continued…

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AN: Yay! Another chapter finished! Thank you for reading my story and please review!

Thanks for reviewing to:

potteraddict1210, puffin, tonksiscool, Soler, MistyMossflower, VoicesInTheWalls, ElementalFoxGoddess, Jynx101, FanofDa'EdBoyz, Kemowitch92, brandygurl016, lady firefox, munchnzoey, Thunderjam, x-Ladiee101-x, Since When, Wynter Rayne, BatteredChild, Dreamweaver, meikouhaikitsune, darkwish3, SlashnYaoi, Fullmetal LVR

Anon. Reviews:

Tonkiscool: You're welcome!

Dreamweaver: Neko came! ;)

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IMPORTANT!!

Neko's identity has been revealed! The closest one to the answer was…

tonksiscool

The reward is that you get to pick a pairing of your choice or kill off someone you really hate **as long as I agree!** I'll try to be open-minded but if it's a character I need/love/or is very important to the story you'll have to pick someone else. Sorry. State you choice in your next review or PM me!

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Mr. Bunny hopes you liked this chappie and says to stay tuned next week for chapter 6!

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	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: My name is not J. K. Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter and I never will. I don't own Naruto either.

"_Parseltongue"_

"Normal speech"

'Thought speech'

_Flashback_

"Parseltongue in Flashback"

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AN: Thankies! Reviews make me feel better and write much faster!

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Chapter 6

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Sunlight was bright on Harry's face. He tried to bury himself into the bed and under the covers to escape the evil light but it kept finding a way under his eyelids. He groaned and finally gave up and opened his eyes. The room was very bright, almost fluorescent.

He frowned. 'Where is everyone?' He got up and went to the wardrobe and tried to open it. It refused to open. He pulled as hard as he could and fell backwards when it still wouldn't budge. He gave it up and left the bedroom. The hall was very dark. 'I thought it was morning? Huh, I guess there's just no windows.'

He started down the hall toward where the dining room was. When he opened the door, he frowned again in confusion. It was empty. There was no bowl of fruit, no cutlery on the table, no nothing. He tried calling Boppy but no pop answered his call. Now Harry was getting nervous. Why was everyone gone?

He ran out of the dining room and back to the bedroom and gasped. The sight that met him was totally different from what he had left. The wonderful velvety bed with plush pillows and long hangings was gone; in it's place was a small cot with a lumpy thread-bare mattress. The silk throw rugs and lavish paintings were replaced with worn and patchy mats and a dirty and chipped picture. In the place of the antique dresser and golden mirror was a crooked table with a drawer and a cracked opaque mirror. And the wardrobe was gone altogether.

Harry stood there in complete shock. 'Everything is gone. Gone. What's going on?' He backed away, to horrified to even step in side. As he backed up, his back was met with something soft. Slowly turning, he was meet with the sight of a pluggy face with small piggy eyes.

"Uncle Vernon…" Harry breathed, unable to think of anything as he faced his uncle. He slowly tried to back away from him and yelped when Vernon's hand suddenly shot out like lightning and wrapped around his wrist, preventing him from escaping. He whimpered when the hand tightened on his wrist; first cutting off his circulation and then slowly crushing it. Vernon's face split in an almost demonic grin when he heard the nearly inaudible sound of pain coming from his nephew.

"What's wrong boy? Are you afraid?" Vernon cooed, his face twisting into something unnatural. Harry only whimpered, frighten out of his wits from both his uncle and his uncle's tone. Whenever he sounded like that, he did bad things. Harry hated them more than the beatings. He could never escape; they only happened sometimes when Aunt Petunia and Dudley were gone for the night. Vernon whispered things he didn't understand and fondled him while doing something with his other hand in his pants. Vernon even touched him down **there** once. He shuddered and tried to squirm away before Vernon tried to do that but froze when he snarled.

"Don't you dare! You're not allowed to move. If you move I'll make you regret it!" Vernon sneered and roughly pulled the petrified Harry closer. "This is punishment for your freakishness. This is all your good for."

Those words broke Harry out of his terror induced stupor.

"I'm not!" he cried as he jerked his wrist out of the surprised Vernon's grip. "It's not freakishness! I have magic!"

The moment those words left his mouth, Vernon roared, lifted his fist. As the fist slowly moved toward his head, he heard something strange.

"Harry."

"Harry!"

"HARRY!"

* * *

Harry jerked up in his bed, gasping. 'It was a nightmare. Nothing more. Just a nightmare.' He tried to calm himself with those thought but memories came to mind unbidden. Memories when what Vernon did weren't so easy to forget. He shuddered and jumped when he felt something nudge his hand. He looked down and relaxed when he saw it was only Neko. 'Neko?'

He blinked and a rush of memories came back to him and he remember last night's events. He softly asked, "Neko, was it you who woke me up?" Neko gave a sad-sounding mew and answered.

"_Yes it was. You were whimpering and tossing around in your sleep. I though you were having a bad dream, so I woke you. Are you alright?"_ she asked anxiously. Harry froze for a second before immediately covering it up and answering.

"Yes, I'm fine. It wasn't that bad of a nightmare." He lied easily, not meeting her eyes. "I hardly remember what it was now. Don't worry." When he saw that she was about to protest he quickly changed the subject. "Are you going to stay with me now? I really missed you and I don't want to lose you."

Neko's heart soared with happiness at his word and immediately reassured him. _"Of course I'm going to stay. Why wouldn't I? I would never leave you willingly."_ Harry smiled and then stretched, climbing out of the bed. He padded over to the wardrobe and mentally sighed in relief when it opened easily. 'Only a dream.'

"Umm… Neko? How come you can speak parsul-persul-perselton-" Harry nearly bit his tongue trying to pronounce the word.

"_Parseltongue."_

"Yeah that. How can you speak it when you're a cat?" He had been wondering that in the back of his mind ever since he was reunited with her the night before.

"I can speak the human-tongue when as a cat as well." She replied almost indignantly. "I just choose not to. I find parseltongue to be more… I don't know, more familiar or comfortable I guess. Why? Do you not like my speaking in parseltongue? Because if you want, I can continue to speak in human-tongue."

"No, that's okay. I like it when you speak in parseltongue. That way, no one else but Tom and Nagini can understand us; it's like having a made-up secret language!" Harry chirped enthusiastically. Neko just mew-chuckled and waited by the bathroom door while Harry could be heard bouncing around and brushing his teeth. When he finally came out, he blinked when he saw her pad softly inside and kick the door shut. He busied himself by trying to unsuccessfully get his hair to lie flat on his while he waited for her. Once she was out, they headed for the dining room.

Harry was once again thought of his dream when he nervously entered. He relaxed when he saw nothing was out of the ordinary. Tom was at the head of the table drinking fresh vanilla-bean coffee and reading a newspaper. Beside him was a glass of orange juice and a steaming plate of eggs, sausages, and two pancakes with sweet syrup and butter on top. The smell made Harry's mouth water and he cautiously sat down in the seat next to Tom. He flinched when Tom suddenly reached out from behind the newspaper to set the glass of orange juice and plate in front of Harry. The newspaper rustled as Tom lowered it, frowning. When Harry had flinched, he a wave of fear had hit him. 'I haven't done anything to scare Harry so why is he afraid?'

"Is something wrong Harry?" Tom tried to ask.

"No- it's nothing. You just startled me." Harry lied unconvincingly. Tom let it go since Harry seemed unwilling to share.

"Eat. We're going out today. You'll need your strength." Tom said as he raised the papers again. Harry bent down and picked up Neko and set her on the chair next to him. he softly but firmly called for Boppy.

Pop!

"How may Boppy serve Young Master Harry?" she asked the moment she caught sight of him.

"Could you get a saucer of milk and another plate of sausages and eggs for Neko? And you don't have to keep calling me Young Master Harry; Harry is fine."

"Oh noes, I could never!" she said sounding almost scandalized. "I will get the food right away!" And with that, she poped away to return seconds later with the saucer of milk and warm plate of food.

"Will that be all sirs?" she asked.

"Thank you Boppy. I think that's it." Harry chirped as he returned to his food, satisfied that Neko was attacking her food like a lion on pork chops. She left with a bow and a loft pop.

As Harry started to devour the food while it was still hot, he glanced up at Tom who was still reading the newspaper. He was in the middle of taking a bite out of a sausage when he noticed one of the people in a picture was moving. He stopped and stared. Tom sensing he was being watched lowered the newspaper once more to behold a sight that had him laughing. Harry was wide-eyed and staring at the newspaper with a sausage sticking out of his mouth and a forkful of eggs in one hand while the other held his orange juice. Harry blushed and bit his sausage in half and chewed rapidly; he was dying to ask how and why the little man was moving. Tom's chuckles died down to a few huffs and decided to start answer to the question in Harry's eyes before he choked on his sausage.

"I see you're wondering about the pictures in the newspaper." He said amusedly. Harry hastily and slowed him frantic chewing. The sausage was really good but very chewy. "Well, while wizards do have cameras that take photos just like muggles, we use special potions and spells to animate the images. It is similar to the muggle television; only there is no sound."

"Wow. That's really amazing. Are photos the only things that can move?" Harry asked in wonder.

"No, they are not. Drawings can be spelled to move; or if they have special ink. The best example of this type of thing is paintings. Paintings can be animated to allow conscious thought within the frame. The subjects of the painting can think for themselves, observe their surroundings or even be the door to a place. For example, if a person were to painted into a portrait, he or she would be able to converse with you and I if we were in front of it." Tom patiently explained in his "teaching mode." He really enjoyed sharing his knowledge. The way Harry paid the utmost attention and hung on to your every word, it made the experience feel very rewarding.

"Do they use a spell on the painting? Or is it in the paint? Are all paintings like that? How come I haven't seen any here?" Harry questioned in a rapid-fire way.

Tom just smiled and answered, "No. Yes. Yes. Because they are elsewhere in the manor." Harry blinked and screwed up his face while matching each answer to his question. It made the little boy look adorable and neither Tom nor Neko could resist sniggering to themselves.

"So, can I see one?" Harry finally asked, curiosity not yet abated.

"Later, when we get back. Right now, you need to finish your breakfast. We are going to go somewhere special when you're done." Tom said indulgingly.

"Special? Where? I'm almost done. What about you? You haven't eaten." Harry protested all the while shoving the rest of the food on his plate into his mouth. "Ish Nawene an nego gwin wif gus? Wer ish ze eniwey?"

Tom blinked and asked half disgusted half amused, "Say that again without your mouth full." Harry chewed quickly and swallowed before repeating his questions.

"Is Nagini and Neko going with us? Where is she anywhere?" He gave a quick look at Neko who had long since finished her plate of food and was leisurely lapping up her milk.

"I assume you are talking about Nagini since Neko is right here?" At Harry's nod he continued. "She is napping on my bed. As it is colder, she tends to sleep more and occasionally even hibernates. She stated that she much rather sleep on the bed with warming charms than trapeze all over in the cold. If Neko wishes to join us she may but only if she keeps out of sight." They looked down at Neko who meowed in response and nodded.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked as they got up and headed out of the dining room toward an direction he hadn't gone before.

"We are going to Diagon Alley. It is one of the most magical areas in London. If I am going to let you stay here you must learn to control and utilize your magic. We can not let it run amok. We need to get some things for you such as personal robes, potion supplies, and a wand."

"A wand?! Really?!" Harry squealed excitedly. They stepped into a large room devoid of everything except a huge fireplace and a stand with a pot of funny powder.

"Yes a wand. But first we need to disguise you." He quickly continued when he say Harry start to ask why. "I wouldn't for you to get hurt from someone who didn't like your family, hmm?" He then muttered something Harry couldn't hear under his breath and pointed at Harry.

Harry felt a light tingling sensation and looked down only for his eyes to widen. His previously pale skin was lightly tanned. When he felt his face, he felt a distinctively arched nose, delicate brows, and thin lips. When he looked up, he appearance must have satisfied Tom's standards because he made a soft hum of approval and began speaking.

"I am going to apparate you and Neko with me. It won't be present; in fact it will feel like being squeezed through a tight tube. So hold on and do not fight me." With Harry's somewhat hesitant nod, he bent over and hugged Harry and Neko.

Harry squeaked when he felt the weird and unpleasant sensation Tom described. He shut his eyes and held on with all his might. It was over in seconds.

"You can open you eyes now." Tom's amused voice filtered over the noise that had suddenly assaulted Harry's senses. When he opened his eyes, he gaped in shock.

"Wow!" Diagon Alley was nothing like he had ever imagined. He was going to have fun with Tom and Neko!

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To be continued…

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AN: Sorry everyone for taking so long. I really didn't feel well for a while there. I cough and sneezed myself nearly to death while trying to write this before giving up until I got better. Well I am posting this now (It's almost 12:20).

Please review! They helped me to write even when sick!

Thank you for reviewing Chapter 5!

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Review Thanks To:

potteraddict1210, Fullmetal LVR, Tiffany Kleinhans, BatteredChild, puffin, Katsheswims, Poisonbelle, Wynter Rayne, Kemowitch92, TuxedoKamenLuver, Meikouhaikitsune, InzanityRulz, VoicesInTheWalls

Anon Reviews:

InzanityRulz: Thanks. I should update again soon.

Meikouhaikitsune: Thank you. P.S. I still cant get bunny or Mr. Bunny on my profile page. Help?

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Mr. Bunny says thanks for reading and stay tuned for Chapter 6. It is currently 12:25 a.m. on May 1, 2008.

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c(")(")

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**_IMPORTANT!_** I posted a picture of Neko on my Deviantart. My homepage is the link to my Deviantart account. Tell me if you like it! And if any of you wish to draw/paint/or anything her, I would love to see your rendition of Neko!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: My name is not J

Disclaimer: My name is not J. K. Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter and I never will. I don't own Naruto either.

"_Parseltongue"_

"Normal speech"

'Thought speech'

_Flashback_

"Parseltongue in Flashback"

AN: Thank you all for the reviews! I'm really sorry for being late. I suffered SAT testing, CST testing, SAT subject test registration, ACT registration, AP testing (for about FIVE hours), a Chinese tournament, and a Math Analysis test.

I was braindead for a while. It took a while for my poor brain to reboot. All in all, these past two weeks have been **VERY** stressful.

Happy late Memorial Day!

**P.S.** READ the AN at the bottom; it's about Neko.

Chapter 7

"Come." Tom held out his to which Harry latched on, in almost a daze. The colors, the sounds, even the smells. Everything was so strange yet incredible at the same time.

Dozens of little shops litter the alley. People were bustling along, conversing excitedly over this and that. A stack of glossy cauldrons stood in front of the nearest shop.

"Where are we going Tom?" Harry chirped, excited and full of energy. "Are we going to get my wand first?" Tom shook his head.

"We need some money so we're going to Gringotts first." Tom answered as he, Neko, and Harry made their way to the tall snow-white building.

Harry looked around in wonder at all the bright and colorful knick-knacks being sold in the passing shops. He looked around curiously as they passed an Apothecary where two people were bargaining over the price of dragon liver. The soft hooting coming from Eeylops Owl Emporium had Neko's full attention. Then he noticed a gaggle of boys and girls around a shop.

"-but look at that handle! The Cleansweep 5 has nothing on the Comet 260!"

"Nu-uh! The Cleansweep 5 can-" Harry tried to lean in to hear them more clearly but they had walked too far. He switched his focus and a glint in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Tom chanced a glance at Harry when he was looking longingly at beautiful shiny chess set in a passing window and stored the sight in the back of his mind.

When they got closer to the white building with the sign; Gringotts, Harry noticed the short figure standing beside there. As they reached the gleaming bronze doors, Harry realized with a start that the little man wasn't human.

"He's a goblin. But don't worry, he won't hurt you." Tom hissed under his breath to Harry. Harry gave an almost imperceptible nod, cuddled Neko, and shyly hid behind Tom when they entered. Once they were past the first set of doors, another set, silver in color, faced them with word engraved upon them. Harry squinted to try and read it but most of the words indiscernible to his bad vision. Tom, noticing this quietly read the words aloud.

"_Enter, stranger, but take heed Of what awaits the sin of greed, For those who take, but do not earn, Must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors A treasure that was never yours, Thief, you have been warned, beware Of finding more than treasure there."_

Harry shivered when Tom was done. Even though he had no intention of stealing anything, the words still chilled to the bone.

"As long as you never try to steal from a goblin, you will be fine Harry." Tom reassured Harry. "They just take money and valuables very seriously."

Harry nodded. Two more goblins bowed as they passed the second set of doors. Harry's eyes widened as they took in the sight of the enormous marble hall. Behind a long counter sat about a hundred goblins on high stools, all busy at work. Some were recording in large ledgers while others were weighing coins in brass scales. There were even some examining precious stones. Beside those goblins, others were showing people in and out of the dozens of doors that lead off the hall. All the while Harry was in shock; Tom had scanned the counter for a free goblin. Seeing one, he pulled Harry and headed for in that direction.

"Good morning," Tom addressed the goblin politely. "We wish to withdraw some money out of our safes."

"Do you have your keys, sir?" The goblin asked.

"I have the key to my vault. However, my charge here, unfortunately does not." Tom said with a touch of regret. "I believe his previous guardian still has the key and I was unable to obtain it. Is there any way for him to access his vault?" The goblin pursed his lips and replied.

"In the case of lost keys and such we are able to do a blood test to confirm the identify of the person in question." The goblin looked down a Harry. "Will that be acceptable?"

Tom noticed how nervous Harry was and gently asked him. "Do want to do the test? Don't worry, it will only take a drop of blood. But you don't want to, we don't have to. I have more than enough money in my own vault. I just wanted you to see your vault and perhaps allow you to take a little bit."

Harry looked uncertainly at Tom and then at the goblin. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"Yes, it is as- asep-"

"Acceptable." Both the goblin and Tom spoke at the same time and look at each other in surprise. Harry giggled and relaxed when Tom and the goblin smiled. Neko just purred.

"Very well. Griphook!" Another goblin appeared. "Please lead these gentlemen to room 7A and give them a blood confirmation test. Once that is done, take them to their vaults." The goblin named Griphook nodded and bowed.

"This way please." Griphook began to lead them to one of the doors on the left. Just as they turned, Harry paused, looked back at the goblin, and waved.

"Bye bye Mr. Goblin!" He chirped. The goblin was startled for a monument before almost gingerly, as if he had never done it before, waved back.

"My name is Ragnok, little one." He answered back, amusement and intrigue apparent in his voice.

"My name isn't little one either. My name is Harry Potter! It was nice to meeting you!" Harry had turned back to follow Griphook and missed the twin looks of shock and bewilderment that passed between the two goblins. Tom and Neko however had not. He held Harry's hand a little tighter. Neko wiggled into a position that allowed her to unsheathe her claws and attack immediately. Both relaxed slightly when nothing happened.

Griphook led them one of the many doors and down a long and narrow white marble hall. Finally they arrived at a dark mahogany door with 7A burned in silver on it. He opened the door and held it for them.

The room was a nice and cozy room with cushioned chairs and a large oak desk. Set upon the desk was a black bowl with silvery liquid in it. They sat down and Griphook began to explain.

"This bowl is the instrument we use to determine heritage and the like. It is a simple process. You need only put one drop of blood into the bowl and your name will rise up from it. Depending on your status, it will also give any titles you hold." Harry stared at the bowl in fascination. What had appeared to be silvery fluid was actually some sort wispy liquid. It wasn't a gas, yet wasn't a liquid either. It gently swirl

"What do I cut myself with?" Harry hesitantly asked. In response, Neko nudged her head against Harry's chest to get his attention. Once he was looking at her, she gently nipped his right index finger. He winced and realized that the cut was just big enough for one drop to form. He held his hand over the bowl.

The little drop clung resolutely to his finger. He tried shaking it into the bowl but it wouldn't fall. He frowned and suddenly he heard something weird. He looked up from his predicament to find Tom, Griphook, and even Neko trying to hide their chortles and amusement.

Harry just pouted.

"Here let me help you." Tom picked up the small knife on the table that Harry had not seen. He gently scraped off the droplet from Harry's finger and tilted the knife over the bowl. The charms on the knife, which Tom had sensed, let the droplet slide easily off the blade and into the bowl.

The silvery wispy liquid immediately began to churn almost violently. Suddenly it turned a garnet red and wisps of it began to rise into the air. It slowly formed the words:

_Harry James Potter_

_Heir of Potter_

Griphook took in the sight and was about to speak when the garnet red wispy liquid began to churn and some more whorls began to rise. Slowly, it formed:

_Heir of Gryffindor_

Tom sucked in his breath. He was shocked in the revelation. Glancing around, the others weren't much better. Griphook's were wide as he stared at the words floating there. Neko had her mouth agape and gave quick glances from the words to Harry.

As for Harry, he just looked confused at everything. He had no idea what was going on and didn't think he'll like it from everyone's expressions.

"What's wrong? Is being the heir of Gryffindor bad?" Harry asked, starting to tear up. Everyone immediately started to reassure him.

"No, no Harry! Nothing is wrong! It was just surprisi-"

"-is a great honor being name the heir of-"

"Purrrrr!"

Harry was bewildered. He could barely understand what anyone was saying.

"Umm. So it's okay that I'm the heir of Gryffindor?" Harry hesitantly asked.

"Yes Harry, it is perfectly alright for you to the heir of Gryffindor. It was just surprising to all of us. There is nothing wrong with being an heir to such an ancient line. I myself am the heir of Slytherin." Tom assured Harry. Griphook and Neko both looked at Tom in surprise. Neither had known he was the heir of Slytherin. Griphook immediately understood the implications of Tom being the heir of Slytherin.

"You… are the heir of Slytherin?" Griphook shakily asked. Tom just gave Griphook a fleeting look and nicked his finger with the silver knife he was still holding. Allowing a drop to fall into the bowl he absently cast a wandless healing charm on his hand.

As the bowl's contents all returned and started to churn again, he gently lifted Harry's hand to see the cut. To his surprise, it had already healed. Looking down he caught a look from Neko.

"_My saliva has healing properties. It comes from being what I am."_ Neko hissed, so muffled that Tom barely heard it himself. Their attention returned to the bowl when its contents suddenly turned Avada Kedava green and wisps began to rise.

_Tom Marvolo Riddle_

_Heir of Riddle_

_Heir of Gaunt_

_Heir of Slytherin_

"See Harry. I am the heir of all of these. Being a heir is not bad. So don't worry." Tom soothed Harry. Griphook stared at the words floating there and turned to Tom with nervousness in his eyes.

"Mr.… Riddle. Would you or Mr. Potter be needing anything else before we visit your vaults?" Griphook said evenly, disguising any hint of anxiety in his voice.

"Yes, just one more thing. I would like to know if Harry's previous guardian ever accessed Harry's vaults and if he did, how much was withdrawn." Tom stated with a hint of authority. Griphook frowned and stood, walking to one of the cabinets in the corner of the room. Opening the third drawer down, he quickly flipped through the folder until he found what he was looking for.

"Ah. Here it is. The Potter Vaults. There are three vaults in total. The first vault is the family heirloom vault. It contains all manner of items stored to be passed down to future heirs. It is not to be touched until the owner reaches the age of seventeen or their majority. The second vault is the savings account. It contains most of the money of the Potters. It also is not to be touched until the owner reaches the age of seventeen or their majority. Finally, the trust vault. IT was meant to be the vault in which young Harry here uses for his purchases for school. Unlike the other two vaults, this one allows access for the owner and guardian. Approximately 6,428 worth of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts have been withdrawn." Griphook said while consulting the papers that he had taken out of the folder.

"And who was Harry's guardian?" Tom asked with ill-concealed ire. Griphook looked at the papers again and flipped the page.

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore." Griphook pronounced with a touch of disdain to his voice.

"Dumbledore." Tom practically hissed. Hatred almost radiated from him. "I want him to never even touch a single Knut of Harry's money again. Is that understood?!" Tom snapped at Griphook.

"Y-yes sir. Understood." Griphook stuttered, barely disguising his fear. Neko reproachfully looked at Tom while Harry timidly hugged Tom. Tom realized with a start that he had scared Harry.

"Please don't be mad at Mr. Griphook. He didn't do anything." Harry murmured to Tom's chest. Tom felt something claw at his heart and quietly replied.

"I wasn't mad at Griphook. Nor am I mad at you or Neko." Tom said gently to Harry while rubbing soothing circles on his back. Turning to face Griphook, he stiffly said, "I… dislike Dumbledore very much and took my anger on you. For that… I apologize." Griphook's eyes widened at the apology.

"Tis no problem. I will do what you asked right away after I escort you gentlemen to your vaults." He said with no little surprise. "This way please." Getting up, he opened the door for them and led them further down the marble hall and opened the door to reveal a narrow stone passageway with little railway tracks. Its dimly lit torches were a stark contrast to the almost sunny marble hall.

"Which vault do you wish to visit first?" Griphook asked as he gave a shrill whistle that made Neko hiss. A medium sized cart came hurtling in front of them.

"Harry's first and then my Vault 797." Tom said as they all gingerly climbed in. Once in the cart shot off down a steep slope.

Left, right. Right, right. Left, right, left. Right, left, left. It was a maze of twisting passageways and tunnels. Harry eagerly looked around as they raced at an extremely high speed. He laughed as the cold and stagnant air ruffled his already messy hair. He looked back and saw Tom and Neko look back at him in amusement. He gave them a bright smile and returned his attention to the Griphook. Griphook who was also watching Harry, suddenly found himself the recipient of a dozen questions.

"Why aren't you steering? Does this cart steer itself? Was that a dragon down there? I saw some fire down that tunnel. And was that an underground lake? How deep are these tunnels? What's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite? How fast can this cart go? Can we go faster?!" Harry chirped, completely excited. Griphook was at a loss with the tsunami of questions. He hadn't even understood half of them with the wind in his ears. He cautiously gave a pleading look toward Tom and Neko.

Tom chuckled and began to answer all Harry's question since he had heard them all perfectly with the wind blowing them straight to him.

"I believe Griphook isn't steering because this is a magical cart that is spelled to steer by itself. Dragons are kept here to guard maximum security vaults so it was possible what you saw was one. That was in fact an underground lake. These tunnels extend for miles under Muggle London. The difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite is that a stalagmite is on the floor and a stalactite hangs from the ceiling. An easy way of remembering that is to remember that stalagmite has a "g" for ground and stalactite has a "c" for ceiling. Carts go to 35 miles per hour and only have one speed." Tom finished with a slight smile at Harry's rapt interest and how Griphook's mouth was open in astonishment.

"Have I answered all your questions Harry? I will never lie to you. Why would I lie when the truth is so much more satisfying?(1)" Tom said as Harry gave a smile so bright it seemed to light up the whole tunnel. Griphook watched the interactions quietly, contemplating what he had seen.

Finally the cart began to slow. Coming to a stop in front of a small door in the tunnel wall, they all climbed out.

"Seeing as you do not has Mr. Potter's key but we have confirmed his identity I will open his vault. Before you leave, leave your owling address with Ragnok so we may owl you a new set of keys. The lock on this door will be changed to prevent any future… mishaps." Griphook said as he bit his finger and smeared some blood on the lock. The lock glowed a dim orange for a moment before a click was heard. The door swung open to reveal a room filled with glittering coins.

Dozens of gold, silver, and bronze lay in enormous heaps. The glitter of all the precious metals was almost blinding. Harry could only stare in complete shock.

"This… this is all… mine?" Harry croaked out, emotion choking him up. "I'm not worthless anymore." The last bit was said in a whisper but everyone heard nonetheless.

"You were never worthless." Tom growled. Harry jumped at the sound. "No matter what those filthy muggles said, you were never worthless. If anything, they were worthless!" The sheer menace literally dripped from his word. Harry looked at Tom for a moment before giving a small smile, albeit weak but still a smile.

"Thanks." Harry all but whispered. "What are they all called? How much do I get out?" He asked, his voice a bit stronger.

"Hmm. Well, the bronze ones are Knuts, the silver ones are Sickles, and the gold ones are Galleons. There are 17 Sickles in a Galleon, and 29 Knuts in a Sickle. You can take a dozen handfuls of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts." Tom explained. Griphook held out two small black velvet bags.

"Here, these bags are charmed with lightening charms, expansion charms, and containment charms. There are also anti-theft charms as well." Griphook explained to them. "Gringotts issues them to many of their customers."

"Thank you." Harry said with a smile. He scurried into the vault and began sweeping coins into his pouch. After dumping several piles of coins into the pouch he straightened. "I'm done! Can we see Tom's Vault now?"

"Yes we can." Griphook said while walking back to the cart. They all climbed in again and they were off.

Deeper and deeper they went. The temperature began to plummet. Tom, noticing this cast a general warming charm over everyone. Griphook turned in surprise but Tom was already looking a Harry. Harry was fascinated. He had tried to see the bottom of an underground ravine they passed but Neko had distracted him.

Just when Harry thought they could go no deeper, the cart started to slow. It came to a stop at a pitch-black metal door with a small hollow on the side. When Harry's looked closer, he realized there was a metal snake coiled around a keyhole within the depression in the wall.

Tom strode right up to the indention in the wall. He reached into one of his pockets in his voluminous robes and withdrew a small silver key with a tiny emerald. Reaching within the snake's coils, he inserted the key. Immediately, the snake came to life and constricted his hand, preventing his from removing his hand. Harry gasped and started forward but Neko, who sensed that this was supposed to happen, bit his robes and prevented Harry from interfering.

"_Who dares awaken me from my sleep?"_ the metal snake hissed. _"No one but master may command me to unlock the door!"_

"_I am your master."_ Tom hissed in Parseltongue. Griphook closed his eyes. With this there was no doubt to the identity of his passengers. He had hoped that the bowl had gotten contaminated from Harry's blood, being he was linked to the Dark Lord. But seeing the man converse with the personal lock the Dark Lord himself had installed into his vault and not get bitten, it was now undisputable.

"_Shitami, I understand you are excited to see me but I need you to do two things for me."_ Tom said calmly as if there wasn't a metal snake wrapped around his wrist.

"_Yes master! What is it? I will do anything the master commands!"_ Shitami immediately declared.

"_I need you to accept Harry here as one may open my vault. He too, is a Speaker. However, due to some who are accompanying us. Harry can not reveal his talent. Will you do this for me?"_ Tom asked evenly.

"_Of course! Whatever my master wishes, I will do everything in my power and ability to do."_ Shitami hissed. _"Just place his hand near my mouth so I can retain his scent_."

Tom held out his hand to Harry. Harry firmly placed his hand in Tom's and allowed himself to pulled toward the snake. She flicked out her metal tongue and tasted the air, absorbing Harry's scent and forever retaining it in her mind.

"_It is done. What was the other that you wished for master?"_ Shitami asked.

"_I wish to withdraw some money from my vault. I need you to open it."_ Tom hissed and watched with amusement as Shitami started.

"_My apologies master. I forgot in my excitement of seeing you again."_ She hissed apologetically as she started to slither into a hole the her body had hidden.

"_It is understandable. Do not worry, I am not mad."_ Tom hissed back. She in fact was the real key to the door. He had designed the lock to be absolutely impenetrable to anyone but him. When someone stuck the silver and emerald key into the lock, it did not open the door but actually triggered a charm that animated Shitami. Once "awake," she would wrap herself around the arm of the key-holder, preventing him or her from escaping. It the trapped person did not start tell to her he was Tom Riddle or master in parseltongue, she would bite him. concealed in her metal fangs was two vials of basilisk venom. Any thief would die in minutes. If it was Tom with the key, she would slither down the secret hole which led to a tunnel around the door to the vault. As she slithered, she would open all the inner locks with the parseltongue passwords. Once that was done, she wound return to the hollow in the wall. Closing the door and hissing "Death is a sleep that lasts forever" locks the vault. Removing the key forces Shitami back to dormancy.

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Clank. All seven lock were open. The heavy metal door swung open silently, revealing a fortune carefully stored away. Tom strode inside and began sweeping fistfuls of coins into the second pouch Griphook had offered. Harry petted Neko while waiting. After a few minutes, Tom strolled out and shut the door.

"_Death is a sleep that lasts forever."_ He hissed. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Clank. 'There, all locked.'

"Come, let's go." Tom ordered. Everyone got back into the cart and they zoomed off. The trip took considerably less time up than down. Harry thought he saw another cart around the corner.

At last they reached ground level. They climbed out and Griphook escorted them through a door that led to another narrow marble hall, this one was gray instead of white. Eventually they were back in the big white marble hall. Spotting Ragnok, Harry practically dragged Tom to him.

"Did everything go well?" Ragnok asked when they reached him. Luckily he was free at that moment. He felt himself liking the little human child named Harry Potter.

"Yup! I did the test and it wasn't scary at all! Then we went on a cart down to our vaults and put our money in the little black pouches. Tom told me what the money was and how much each was." Harry chirped happily. "The Knuts are the little bronze ones, the Sickles are medium silver ones, and the Galleons are the big gold ones. There are…19, no! 17 Sickles in a Galleon, and 29 Knuts in a Sickle!"

Ragnok gave a low raspy chuckle. He was unused to chuckling. "That very good. Well done." Harry beamed up at everyone, proud he had got it all right.

"Well, we have to go buy supplies. Griphook told us to leave our owling address with you so you can owl us Harry's new Vault key." Tom said. Ragnok blinked and nodded. "Address your owl to Slytherin Manor. I will adjust the wards to allow owls bearing Gringotts letters and packages."

Ragnok, who had been dipping his quill in preparation of writing the address, froze. A single droplet of ink fell fro the tip of his quill and landed on the crisp sheet of blank paper.

"Sly- Slytherin Manor?" Rangok asked in shock. Tom leaned down to take Harry's hand and began to leave.

"Yes, Slytherin Manor. I expect that owl in at least three days." Tom called quietly over his shoulder. Harry who had been following Tom stopped and pulled his hand out of Tom's grasp. Turning, Tom watched as Harry scurried over to Griphook was talking to the shocked Ragnok. They abruptly stopped talking when Harry wrapped his little around first Griphook and then Ragnok.

Then stepping back he cheerfully said, "Bye bye Griphook! Bye bye Ragnok! See you next time!" Tom mentally chuckled to himself as he turned back to the double doors. 'The looks on their faces was priceless.'

Harry happily skipped away, oblivious to the absolute shock he had caused. Laughing he darted through the double doors and passed Tom and Neko when they opened the other doors.

"Harry wait!" Tom called. Harry turned his head and slowed down. Unfortunately that meant he didn't see the man in front of him.

Wham!

"Oof!" Harry, being the smaller in both size and weight bounced back and landed on his behind. The shadow of the man briefly blocked the sun, making it had for Harry to see who he had slammed into.

"Be more careful child. Or else you may learn that lesson the hard way." A snarky voice drawled. Harry tried to crawl backwards but felt a hand on his shoulder. He nearly flinched but relaxed when he saw it was Tom.

"Hello Severus." Tom said pleasantly. Though his words were pleasant, his eyes smoldered with a carefully controlled rage that could escape at any moment.

"M-my lord!" Severus Snape stuttered out. 'Oh no. I'm going to die.'

To be continued…

Hahaha! Cliffe! After almost two weeks I give you this a cliffhanger! Sorry about the long wait. Explanation (cough rant cough) at top AN.

Why would I lie when the truth is so much more satisfying?(1) - This quote belongs to KrystalRoze. (Amazing author! Check out her work!)

Thank you all including anonymous reviewers!

adenoide: I'm glad you like Tom. I hope you continue to like him. I don't like Dumbles or Ron very much so no worries there. As for Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys… I like them for the most part. I love Gred and Forge. But Harry definitely won't become a "Golden Boy" for Dumbles. ;)

_**IMPORTANT!**_ I posted a picture of Neko on my Deviantart. My homepage is the link to my Deviantart account. Tell me if you like it! And if any of you wish to draw/paint/or anything her, I would love to see your rendition of Neko!

I updated! I did so as soon as my brain rebooted.

Happy late Memorial Day!

Mr. Bunny would like to apologize for Aki's rant(top AN). She was on a life-support of sugar, sugar, and more sugar.

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	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: My name is not J. K. Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter and I never will. I don't own Naruto either.

"_Parseltongue"_

"Normal speech"

'Thought speech'

_Flashback_

"Parseltongue in Flashback"

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AN: Sorry everyone! My big explanation for my lateness is at the bottom. But thanks for waiting! Your reviews really helped me feel better and write much faster!

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Chapter 8

* * *

"I have not seen you quite a long time. What brings you here?" Tom's pleasant voice gave little evidence to any malice hidden beneath his cheerful outer shell.

However, Severus had served under the Dark Lord for years and could tell the signs. The little twitch in the right eyebrow. The slight lifting of the voice. He could tell that his lord was displeased with something. What it was was the question.

As he opened his mouth to give his reply, he was interrupted by a soft and curious voice.

"Tom? You know him?" Startled, Severus looked down. There, slightly obscured by his tall shadow, was a little boy. The child was so small and petite in appearance, he did not look a day older than five. However, the quiet voice had the feel of someone older.

"He was… an associate of mine." Tom answered. "Well Severus, you haven't answered my question."

"I was stocking up on potion ingredients, my-" Severus was suddenly cut off.

"Harry, why don't you and Neko go look at the owls in Eeylops Owl Emporium. See if any take to you." Tom deliberately interrupted. Harry's face lit up and he dusted off his robes. Once he had disappeared into the owl shop with Neko tagging at his heels, Tom turned back to Severus.

"Do **not **call me your lord in the public, **fool**!" Tom snarled. Severus flinched back as Tom seized his arm and dragged Severus into the shadow of a shop. Once Severus' back was to the wall, Tom leaned forward menacingly.

"I know you are a spy. I know you work for Dumbledore. But I also know you are presenting accurate information to me too. I know you are playing both sides of the field." Severus paled even more. If the Dark Lord knew, there was no way he was getting out of this alive.

"I-" Severus tried to defend himself even if he knew it was futile. After all, he had no chance of winning a duel against the Dark Lord.

"Stop. I don't want to hear it. I don't care." Tom cut him off. "I won't kill you. I still have a use for you yet." Severus gulped; no doubt it would be something unpleasant.

"I want you to continue as you have been. However, I do not want Dumbledore to discover three things. I will know if you inform him." Tom stated with menace in his voice. "One. You will not inform Dumbledore of my appearance. Two. You may not inform Dumbledore of Harry's existence. Three. You will tell Dumbledore you are teaching my protégée potions but you may not describe his appearance. You will say he always has a glamour on. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, my…" Severus started to say before hesitating.

"You will have to call me Tom. And you will begin teaching potions to Harry two days from now. I will summon you when it is time. Speak of this to no one and you will not die." With that, Tom swept off, leaving a pale and sweating Severus contemplating this new revelation.

* * *

Entering Eeylops Owl Emporium, the first thing he saw was Harry and Neko watching with fascination as an enormous silver owl preened her feathers as she sat on an even bigger nest. The small sign next to the owl read;

_Nyctea scandiaca_

_Rare Silver Arctic Owl_

_Roosting Female: 90 Galleons_

_Chicks: 50 Galleons_

_Eggs: 45 Galleons_

Tom chuckled which caused Harry, Neko, and the owl to turn and look at him. Harry immediately jumped up and began pleading with Tom.

"Tom, can I please get an egg? Please, please, please! I promise to take care of it and keep it warm until it hatches. And when it does I'll feed it and clean up after it. Please?! The eggs are cheaper than the chicks. I really want to take care of one! Please?! I won't get anything else! I just want an egg!" Harry begged, desperate to get something he just felt was right. He couldn't explain it. He felt like he needed to get an egg.

"Weell. If you only buy an owl, what about supplies?" Tom gently teased. When Harry's face crumpled because he didn't know Tom was teasing, Tom immediately reassured Harry. "I was joking! Yes you may buy an egg. I will pay for the supplies. However, you will have to take care of it and feed it when it hatches." With that, Harry's face lit up with such joy that it took Tom's breath away. 'How can such an abused child be so full of life and joy? What would he have been like if I hadn't taken him.' As he pondered this, Harry had run up to the shop manager and dragged her to the roost, chattering excitedly as he went.

Tom watched as the manager spoke quietly to the silver snowy owl. Harry fidgeted in barely contained excitement as he waited. Finally the silver snowy owl regally and with great dignity rose and stepped onto the perch right next to the roost.

For a few moments, there was no sign of anything. Then, all of a sudden, a little white head peaked over the edge of the nest. Its little warm amber eyes took in the sight of Harry anxiously watching the nest. Then it peeped.

As if that was a signal, five more heads popped up. Their colors ranged from pure white to dappled gray to silver. Some eyes looked curiously at the strangers while others ignored them with an air of self-importance.

Harry craned his neck, trying to see if there were any eggs. Unfortunately, he was just too short and could not see a thing aside from the little heads that were sticking out. Tom and the store manager nearly laughed when Harry tried hopping up and down to see if there were any eggs. Neko just stared at the owlets.

Harry, frustrated that he was so short finally turned to Tom and looked pleadingly. Tom, relenting to the adorable pouting picture Harry made, conjured a small stepping ladder. Harry eagerly got on it and peeked over the nest.

Right in the middle of the six owlets lay a single cream colored egg. Harry reached out to gently and carefully pick it up. It was still warm to the touch. As Harry delicately cradled the egg, a look of wonder was visible on his face. He slowly stepped down from the ladder and walked carefully to the counter.

Tom inspected the owl care merchandise and kept his eye on Harry as he pulled out his bag from Gringotts. Harry reached into his black velvet bag and slowly counted 45 big fat golden galleons onto the counter. Tom leaned back to better hear what Harry was muttering.

"-seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve-" Tom smirked at the unintentional torture Harry was inflicting on the manager and went back to browsing the owl care merchandise. After picking a owl nest with perch, several pounds of owlet food, a couple packages of owl treats, and a self-adjusting owl harness, Tom made his way to the counter where Harry was still counting.

"-forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five!" Harry triumphantly counted. Tom silently snickered again and set his purchases on the counter. He felt a soft nudge to his foot and looked down.

Neko had a dark purple collar in her mouth. Tom leaned over and picked it up. The tiny silver bell and the silver blank tag was simple but stylish. Tom added that to his pile of purchases.

The relieved manger rang them up to seventeen galleons and Tom quickly counted them out. Harry's eyes were glued to the egg and wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings. Then, Tom gently steered Harry out of the shop. Neko just tagged along, proudly displaying the collar with the newly engraved _**Neko**_ on the tag. Tom had immediately spelled the name on as soon as he put the collar on Neko.

They made their way to the bookstore Flourish and Blotts. Tom cast a cushioning charm on the egg and slipped it into his pocket while Harry darted around, looking at the many titles.

"Go on, pick some books." Tom called out as he noticed Harry looking longingly at a few books. Harry's eyes widened in amazement at the statement.

"But- but I promised to not buy anything else." Harry stammered out. Tom snorted and replied.

"Yes, but I'm paying so technically you aren't buying anything." Harry paused in order to digest that and then zipped off with Neko at his heels. Tom browsed a bit and came upon 'Everything you need to know about Owls' and 'The Beginners' Guide to Potions.' He also found an obscure little book titled 'Asian Magical Beings' in a dusty corner. He skimmed through that while waiting for Harry. A little while later, Harry came back with two books in hand.

"'Tales of Beedle the Bard' and 'A History of Magic.' That's what you want?" Tom asked a bit skeptically. Harry nodded enthusiastically.

"I like fairy tales. It made me hope someone would come save me like how the prince saved the princess from the evil dragon. Like how you saved me." Harry said cheerfully while looking at 'Tales of Beedle the Bard.' Tom swallowed with difficultly. It was a sad day when someone felt the evilest Dark Lord in over centuries was a 'prince charming' that had saved them. "And I want to learn more about magic so 'A History of Magic' should be perfect."

"Excellent choices Harry." Tom praised while hiding his bubbling anger toward muggles. Particularly three abominable muggles that were high on his list. They went to the counter to pay for the books.

A brunette girl blowing giant blue bubbles of bubblegum sat at the register with an bored expression on her face. She took one look at Tom and blushed bright red. Immediately, she started to flirt while clumsily counting the merchandise. She did such an abysmal job in both counting and flirting that Tom nearly lost his patience and crucioed her. Fortunately for her, Harry was there so Tom was just barely able to rein in his temper.

"Buh-bye cutie! Call me!" She practically cooed in a false girly voice.

'How about I just crucio you instead.' Tom thought darkly and they left the store. Harry, noticing Tom's stormy mood, just quietly held onto Tom's hand.

Neko, annoyed at how the afternoon was turning out, ran back into Flourish and Blotts. Neither Tom nor Harry realized this until they heard a shriek from behind them. Turning, they just managed to catch a glimpse of the girl running out the store. Her brunette hair was covered in blue bubblegum. On top of a non-gummed part of her head sat a tiny garden snake.

"SNAKE! OH MY GOD! SNAKE! GET IT AWAY FROM ME!" she could be heard screaming as she ran down the alley. A minute later, a smug looking Neko pranced out the door. However, all Tom and Harry could do was laugh at the expression on the girls face. It was a mixture of horror, hysteria, and disgust. Both wondered how she would react when she realized that the snake was still there and on her head.

"Good girl, Neko." Tom murmured as he slowed down to chuckles. She just gave a satisfied meow in response. Now, with lifted spirits, Tom led them to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

"Go ahead, pick anything you want! I'll pay. And you two Neko." Tom said with a hidden smile as he watched both Harry and Neko excitedly begin to browse through the many different flavors. They also got to taste any flavor with the tiny spoon samples. After nearly ten minutes of deliberation and thought, Neko and Harry had decided what they wanted.

"I'll have the Raspberry Cheesecake Swirl and Neko wants the Salmon Delight!" Harry chirped while bouncing from foot to foot. Pausing, he turned to Tom. "Aren't you getting anything Tom?"

Tom smirked. "I already know what I want. I'll have the Triple Fudge Coffee Surprise."

Fortescue cheerfully scooped generous portions into three bowls and stuck two spoons in the Raspberry Cheesecake Swirl and Triple Fudge Coffee Surprise. "That'll be 9 Sickles and 7 Knuts." Tom handed over the money and carried the bowls to a nearby empty table.

Once there, everyone dug into their delightfully cold treat. They didn't surface for a few minutes but when they did, the sight was hilarious.

Harry had a reddish-purple stain all around his mouth. Neko's nose was covered in pink ice-cream. She even had a tiny bit on her ear. Tom had a streak of fudge across his face. How that got there, he did not know. But what they all knew was that they looked ridiculous with their ice-cream faces. They laughed (or meowed in Neko's case) and finished every last drop. Tom got them clean with a sourgify. He used a wand this time incase anyone was watching. After throwing away the trash, they headed to Madam Malkin's Robesfor All Occasions.

Entering, they were met by a plump little witch. She introduced herself as Madam Malkin. She led Harry to a little platform and set a tape measurer to measure Harry as she bustled around. Neko took one look around and jumped onto a pile of wool clothes. There she curled into a ball and took a nap.

"What type of robes are you looking for?" She asked while examining a blot of dark blue cotton.

"We just want a full set of robes. Preferably in the darker colors." Tom replied as he watched in amusement as Harry gazed at the tape measurer in amazement. As if sensing Harry's wonder, the tape measurer began twirling more than necessary, as if showing off. It was during one of these twirls that it accidentally flew straight into Madam Malkin. It immediately flew back to where it came from, as if embarrassed. Madam Malkin looked suspiciously at it but went back to finding bolts of cloth.

Tom and Harry exchanged looks and both barely contained their mirth. When a small snicker escaped Harry's mouth, Madam Malkin stuck her head from behind a tall pile of clothes and looked even more suspicious. They just barely kept their faces straight. When she finally disappeared again, tom immediately cast a Silencing charm on the both of them and they dissolved in giggles and snorts. Tom just barely managed to cancel the charm before she came back.

"Now, you said dark colors? Here are some nice dark blues and greens. I also brought a dark red. I think it would look nice with you hair. Of course, here are some nice black robes. I also took the liberty of getting a few bright colors. This bright green matches perfectly with your eyes. Such pretty eyes. Silver would also go well with your eyes so I brought some of that too. Are these acceptable?" Madam Malkin rambled on.

Tom and Harry examined the wide range of colors. They were almost all perfect with a few exceptions. There was a red that was so bright that Harry had to squint to look at it.

"They are all acceptable except that one. I also want a some acromantula silk dress robes in the bright green, the dark green, the dark silver, and black." Tom ordered. "When can you be finished with the lot?"

"I can have them all finished by the end of the week. Do you will for me to mail them to you or would you like to pick them up yourself?" She cheerfully asked.

"I will pick them up. Is nine thirty acceptable?" Tom replied. Madam Malkin nodded and gathered the clothes. Harry jumped off the platform and scooped up Neko. She just lazily meowed and curled up tighter. Harry looked up at Tom and followed him out.

* * *

"Where are we going now?" Harry asked. He was a bit tired but still excited. 'Magic is really amazing.'

"We are going to buy you a wand." Harry immediately perked up. 'A wand! Now I can see if I can really do magic!'

"However, you will only be allowed to use it under my supervision. For the rest of the time, I will be keeping it. It is for your own safety. While a wand is a instrument to channel your magic, it still can harm you. I want you to be careful." Tom warned. "But don't worry. I will be instructing you constantly. You will not be parted with your wand for long. Once I see you can safely keep from harming yourself with it, I will return it."

Tom led them to a small dusty shop at the end of the alley. It had an ancient feeling. Walking in, the old feeling was combined with gloom. There were row upon row, column upon column of boxes all neatly stacked on top of each other. Harry shivered. It felt like a ghost could just sneak up on you.

"Good afternoon." The soft greeting startled Harry into spinning around to come face to face with a peculiar man.

He was pale, so pale that he seemed to have never seen the sun in his life. He had a head of pure white hair that stuck every which way. Long spindly fingers extended from a hand peeking from out of his robes. But his eyes were what caught Harry's attention. The light colored silvery eyes were

"I did not expect you Mr. Potter for a few years yet." His intense pale eyes were starting to scare Harry.

"Um- Hi." Harry squeaked. His heart was still racing.

"We are here to obtain a wand." Tom said curtly. He wasn't happy with how Ollivander had snuck up behind him. Ollivander turned toward Tom and gave a faint smile.

"Ah Mr. Riddle. I never expected to see you in my shop again. Much less with a young charge. I still remember the day we first met. I still remember which wand chose you. Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. The core was a phoenix feather. One of two that I received..." Ollivander trailed off. His eyes darted from Harry to Tom.

"I wonder..." He turned and disappeared behind a shelf of boxes. When he came back, in his hands was a dusty box. It didn't seem any different from the other boxes. When Ollivander opened the box and held it out, Harry was curious but didn't expect anything to happen. How wrong he was.

The moment Harry's fingertips touched the wand, what felt like a charge of electricity ran down his arm. Almost in a trance he gently lifted the wand out of the box, delicately holding it as if it were made of spun sugar. His arm rose, almost of its own accord, and swept down. As it fell, a trail of red and gold sparks showered out from the tip of the wand. Wisps of silver spun in-between the light show.

Tom watched not the light show, but Harry's face. His eyes were halve-lidded, as if he was almost asleep. But when he waved his wand, those liquid emerald eyes had closed. His whole face relaxed. A faint smile were on his lips. It looked like Harry was truly at peace. As if all his demons were chased away. As if he had forgotten every last horrible and cruel thing that had been done to him. It was a look that entranced Tom.

"It just so happens, that the phoenix feather of your wand, Mr. Potter, is the second and only other feather given to me. That same phoenix donated the feather that is the core of Mr. Riddle's wand. In other words, Mr. Riddle's wand is brother to Mr. Potter's wand." Mr. Ollivander murmured.

Tom turned toward Mr. Ollivander in shock. It seemed that more and more things kept linking the two of them together. Who knows what would happen if Harry ever grew to hate Tom. The results could be catastrophic.

"Tom...?" Harry said almost dreamily. "Tom, I feel... warm... and happy. Am I supposed to feel like that?" Tom smiled inwardly and reassured Harry.

"Yes, you are. That means that this wand chose you." Harry smiled and turned toward Ollivander.

"What-" Harry started to ask.

"-is your wand? Holly. Eleven inches. Nice and supple. The core is of course a phoenix feather." Ollivander finished with a satisfied look. "That will be seven galleons."

Tom reached for his Gringotts pouch and retrieved the said amount. As he paid Ollivander, Neko, who had been napping in one of Tom's pockets popped her head out. She looked straight at Ollivander and meowed.

"Ahh. I never ever expected a kitsuneko to come to my shop. Do you wish for a wand as well?" Ollivander muttered, half to himself, half to the sleepy kitty in Tom's pocket.

Neko nodded and wiggled out of Tom's pocket. As she fell, she dark purple flames obscured her from view. However, they vanished as soon as she finished shifting. When her feet gently tapped the floor, she was almost fully human again. All that proved her kitsuneko heritage and that she wasn't an Animagus was the long silky tail protruding behind her and the cat ears perched upon her head.

"Yes." Neko said softly. "I would very much like to have a wand." Ollivander smiled and gave a bow.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss...?" he trailed off.

"Oh! My name is Tetsumi. But I would like to be called Neko." She said as she blushed at her oversight.

"And you may call me Ollivander." He gave a reassuring smile and continued. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"I would like for you to fashion a wand for me." She hesitantly asked. "I would prefer a custom wand over anything that you already have because I don't think they would like me." Ollivander gave her an enthusiastic smile.

"Ooooh! A challenge! I'll be glad to!" He cheerfully said as he darted back behind some shelves to come back with a big box and a set of scales. "Here, reach into the box without looking and pull out what draws your hand the most." Neko cautiously reached into the box and began rummaging through it. Tom and Harry had moved out of the way and were observing off to the side.

"Tom?" Harry whispered. Tom turned toward Harry questioningly.

"Yes? What is it?" Tom could see a curious light in Harry's eyes.

"Why do we have brother wands? Is it because of that link you talked about?" Harry asked quietly as he watched Neko reach deep into the box, going up to almost her shoulder.

"Hmm. I can't answer that." Tom muttered. While he felt some amusement in watching Neko almost dive into the box, he felt discomforted at the line of questioning. It raised questions that he didn't know the answers to. It could also lead to things he didn't want Harry to know about their connection and its formation.

"Why not?" Harry turned to Tom. Even though he had only known Tom for a few days, it felt like he had know the other forever. Tom also seemed to know everything. It never even crossed Harry's mind that Tom didn't know.

"Because... it's very complicated. I don't want to confuse you. I can tell you it does have something to do with our bond." Tom replied as he watched a look of contentment appear on Neko's face. She carefully lifted out a long block of strangely patterned reddish brown wood.

"Aaah. I see you are most affiliated with snakewood. Good." Neko and Tom both froze in startlement at Ollivander's words. The connotation connected to the chosen wood escaped Harry however. "Now, what do you want the core to be? It must be-"

"-magical. I know. If it's possible, I would like to use one of my own hairs." Neko interrupted nervously.

"Hmmm. It's possible. I myself have never used any demon hairs, much less kitsuneko hairs, for wands. However, due to this being a custom wand, I can try it." Ollivander mused. "If you will." He gestured toward Neko's hair.

"Oh! Yes, of course." She swept her hair in front of her and carefully plucked out one of the longest charcoal colored hairs. Ollivander nodded in approval and carefully positioned the set of silver scales in front of Neko.

"Now we need to figure out how long your wand must be. Please place the wood on this side of the scale. Good. Now set the hair on the other side. Yes. Right there. Okay, please step back." As Neko stepped back, Ollivander raised his wand and tapped the top of the scales. It began to tip back and forth. Finally it settled and Ollivander leaned forward and looked carefully at the measurements marked on the side.

"Yes... three chees- but there are two gey sans- don't forget the three gey yis." Ollivander mumbled almost inaudibly to himself. Tom, Harry, and Neko exchanged confused looks but didn't comment.

"Your wand will be twelve inches." Ollivander finally determined.

He gently picked up the block of snakewood and tapped it with his wand while muttering something inaudible, causing it to give off a dim red glow. Then he gripped one end and used his other hand to cover the wood of that end. Then he suddenly ran his hand down the length of the block. In his hand's wake the wood burned a bright red and seemed to almost melt into a slim shape. At the other end, he stopped and pushed the two ends toward each other, shortening the wand.

Once he was seemed satisfied, he stopped and delicately picked up the hair that was still resting on the scales. Placing one end of the strand at the point of the bright red glowing stick, he slowly fed the stand into it. Eventually the whole strand was in the wand. Then he let go with one hand and tapped the still glowing wand with his own wand, muttering something inaudible.

The wand finally stopped glowing and in the block of wood's place was a reddish brown wand with black stripes that looked like a snake.

"There. I'm done. As for payment, rather than money, I would like a single strand of your hair to be used for another wand. I promise not to use it for any other purpose." Ollivander said happily.

Neko slowly nodded. She swept her hair in front of her again and carefully plucked out another stand of the charcoal black hair. Reaching forward she handed it to Ollivander. As he took the strand he held out her wand. Neko hesitated for a heartbeat before grasping in within her hand.

Warm infused her body as she unconsciously raised her hand and swept it down. In the tip's wake, purple and black sparks showered out. A soft smile adorned her face as she gazed at her wand in respect. Turning back to Ollivander after a few moments she thanked him profusely.

"It was no problem. I thank you. I have never fashioned a demon hair wand and now I will be able to create two!" He gave an enthusiastic smile and disappeared into the back of his shop. Neko turned toward Tom and Harry.

"I did not realize you did not possess a wand for yourself. Do you know spell at least?" Tom asked with ill-hidden curiosity. Harry nodded.

"Yes. I was taught spells when I was just a kitling. I also received tutorage from some great wizards and witches when they visited." Neko replied. "I just never got the chance to obtain a traditional wand before..." She trailed off, sadly thinking of her past. She gave a sigh and a weak smile before muttering something inaudible.

The wand, that was innocently resting in her hand, gave a slight shudder before dissolving into the air. A small gust of wind in the shape of a tornado enveloped the wand tip down. As the wind moved down, the part of the wand it had passed over disappeared. Once the wand was completely gone, she burst into flames and turned back into her kitty form. She gave a cute look that said 'Pick me up and put me in your pocket!' Tom leaned down and gently put Neko into one of his many pockets.

Then he held out his hand for Harry. Taking his hand, Harry and Tom finally left the shop. From there they headed toward the little toy shop they had passed on their way to Gringotts. Harry's eyes widened in surprise when Tom walked in and told the manager that he want a chess set identical to the one displayed on the display case. When the manager nervously asked if Tom wanted anything else after retrieving a new set, Tom hesitated. He leaned toward the manager and said something that Harry couldn't catch. The manager glanced at Harry and gave a sly smile and reached under the counter to pull out a long case.

"Will that be all sir?" When Tom nodded, the manager rang up the two purchases and shrunk both so they would fit in Tom's pocket.

"What was-" Harry started to ask before being interrupted.

"Later." Tom answered with a hint of smugness. This time he led them back to the fireplace in which they had originally come from. With a pinch of Floo powder and a some words, they were gone.

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To be continued...

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AN: Wow, it's been a crazy couple of week for me. I had finals to deal with and after that, my parents found about Starlight Darknight. It wasn't a pretty sight at first but I convinced them to allow me to continue. Your reviews helped me a lot! THANK YOU ALL A LOT!! :D (My dad is actually being supportive now.)

Thank you all and thanks to my anonymous reviewers!

adenoide: Don't worry, while Harry will never be the "Golden Boy."

Dreamweaver: See! Sev survived! Oh, thanks for pointing out that mistake. I don't have a beta and while I do reread my chapters several times to proofread them, sometimes little things like that get past me.

Macvanaly: Yea! You read and actually like my story! Success! You're one of my favs!

Amy: You'll just have to wait and see! Hope you like it!

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P.S. Mr. Bunny would like to say that I hope to update on a regular basis now that school is out. Hopefully I can update at least once every one or two weeks and on Wednesdays.

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C(")(")


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: My name is not J. K. Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter and I never will. I don't own Naruto or Rebirth either.

"_Parseltongue"_

"Normal speech"

'Thought speech'

_Flashback_

"Parseltongue in Flashback"

* * *

AN: Hi everyone! Hope you like my newest chapter! Your reviews really helped me feel better and write much faster!

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Chapter 9

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All was quiet in an empty study. Silence broken only by the crackling of the flames in the fireplace. Abruptly the flames, formerly a bright cheery orange, turned a sinister green.

Floosh!

Out of the bottle green flames stepped a tall dark figure. Greasy shoulder-length ebony hair framed a shallow skinned face. Above a protruding hook-nose glared two unfathomable black eyes. The piercing dark eyes surveyed the room with a long sweeping look before striding to the left side of the room. There, a large cabinet sat. The dark mahogany wood gave off an intimidating feel to any would-be thieves.

It took only a few long steps to reach the foreboding cupboard. Once there, a thin spidery hand grasping an equally thin wand reached out from beneath voluminous black robed. It tapped the surface of the wood with three sound and precise raps.

Click.

The doors of the cabinet swung silently outward once the locking charm was disabled. Inside the wooden walls sat several shelves; all covered in various strange and bizarre objects and jars. The pale hand had pocketed the dark wand only to reach out deep into the depth of the third to last shelf. When it withdrew, it held a bottle of dark amber-red liquid.

Closing the cabinet, it clicked shut and automatically reactivated the locking charm. The intimidating figure then strode to the cushioned chair that sat overlooking the sizeable fireplace. Taking out his wand once more, he muttered a small incantation that caused a small glass goblet to come into existence on the oak writing table next to the chair.

Sinking into the comfort of the chair, the man know as Severus Snape contemplated his life and the many decisions to make. He poured a generous portion of the bottle into the goblet. The dark amber-red liquid smoked slightly as he took a swallow. He shuddered before relaxing as the alcohol took affect.

He took another smaller sip of the alcoholic drink. Nursing the goblet, he stared into the fire as if it held all the answers to life's questions. Unfortunately for him, it didn't even have the answer to the question that had been plaguing him since that afternoon. Since that encounter with his deceased master. 'Though he couldn't be considered deceased anymore now could he?' Snape thought wryly. Now he had to choose between giving his loyalty to the master that openly controls and lies or the master that manipulates and deceives secretly.

Both were distasteful to him and both were potentially deadly. By taking one side, the other would likely hunt him down to the ends of the earth to destroy him.

'Or you could play both sides like how your Lord suggested.' A little voice whispered to him in the back of his head. Growling, he shook his head.

'Why would he give me help? He knew I had betrayed him!' He argued back. He gave his goblet a swirl, causing the wisps of smoke to mist in a circular pattern, before taking a sip.

'Why indeed? Unless you had something of value to him.' The smug little voice replied. 'Then he would be willing to allow you to live.'

"Hmmm." Severus hmmed to himself, considering that tidbit of information. It was true that he was a valuable asset. He was an accomplished Potions Master. Not only that he was close to Dumbledore and had many connections.

However, he knew he was in no way, irreplaceable. If the Dark Lord got even the faintest hint of Severus betraying him again, death would come swiftly. If he was lucky. Most likely, in the event of another betrayal, his Lord's patience would run out and he would be faced with countless hours, if not days, of excruciating torture of both the body and mind.

He tried to ignore the voice by fiddling with his goblet. After all, hearing voices was never a good sign. He held the goblet up and looked at the fire through the liquid. The firelight turned the fluid a crimson red.

A blood red.

'But he wants you to teach someone.' The little voice whispered traitorously. 'That means he has some trust in you.'

'Yes. Trust that I will not suicidally kill the boy, thus bring his wrath on me.' He replied sarcastically.

'But that's still trust!' The voice stubbornly argued back. 'A willingness to give you another chance, however slight.'

Severus stayed silent. It was true. The Dark Lord did not forgive. He did not like mistake, much less betrayal. For him to offer him an chance to 'redeem' himself was unheard of.

'That boy...' Severus gave a start when the voice offered that thought.

'That's right! Why was there a boy with the Dark Lord? He had little tolerance toward the children of his followers last time so why...?' Severus froze as another chilling thought occurred to him. 'What if that boy was the Dark Lord's son?! Or his prodigy?! Of course! That's why he wanted me to teach him! I am the perfect candidate to teach that child the delicate art of potions.'

'Maybe the child is changing him.' the voice slyly whispered.

Severus scoffed. 'Changing him? Impossible. Nothing short of Memory charms or the Imperius Curse would change him!'

'But he was willing to allow you to live, now wasn't he. Even if it was in exchange for something, he was still **willing**.'

Now Severus was torn. On one hand, if he swore loyal to Dumbledore, he would be atoning for his past grievances. If he vowed loyalty to the Dark Lord he would be following the man he had been seduced with all the ideals, promises of knowledge and dreams of the utopia that could probably never occur.

'Some choice.' The little voice muttered sarcastically.

Severus snorted and took another swig of his still smoking drink, demolishing almost half of what he poured.

"I did not take you as one who enjoys Fire whiskey as their choice of beverage, Severus."

Severus nearly choked. Twisting in his seat, he turned to see Dumbledore standing in his living room doorway.

"Headmaster." He acknowledged. "I did not expect you."

'He doesn't need to know now of the Dark Lord's rise. I will speak to him later when I have made my decision.' Severus thought.

"I am sorry. It is just that there is a potion I need." Albus Dumbledore asked pleasantly. Inwardly he was curious as to why Severus was drinking. The only time he ever drank was when he was stressed, troubled, or both. 'Now why would-'

"May I inquire which potion you need? I may or may not have it in stock, seeing as some potion can last for a few days while other have lifetimes spanning decades." Severus' drawl broke Dumbledore's line of thought.

"Of course. Silly me, I forgot. What I need is a Locus Potion. Do you currently have any in stock?" Dumbledore pasted on a sheepish smile.

Severus frowned. 'Why on Earth does Dumbledore need a Locus Potion?'

"Unfortunately, the last of my Locus Potions expired two years ago. I did not see a great need for them and seeing that the ingredients needed are rather rare, I did not think to brew more." At those words, Dumbledore's face tightened almost unperceivably. But like how knew the Dark Lord's turbulent emotions, he had spent years around the headmaster and could see through most of his masks. The headmaster was either agitated or annoyed.

"Would it be possible to brew another batch now?" Dumbledore asked cheerily.

"Seeing as the overall process takes at least three months to brew, it would be quite impossible. Not only that, it need the light from three consecutive full moons. It there is cloud cover for even a minute on one of those three nights, the potion will be next to useless." Snape replied. Now he knew that Dumbledore was agitated. He was never that cheery after bad news unless he was nervous or panicking.

"I am willingly to wait for that long. Please bring a batch over by my office as soon as possible." Check that, make it extremely agitated and panicking.

Dumbledore gave a nod to express his goodbye and walked off. Very quickly, Severus noticed.

Now, Severus was curious. Why was Dumbledore so agitated and panicky tonight. 'It must have something to do with the Locating Potion.' He frowned in concentration as he pondered the reasons for why Dumbledore needed a Locating Potion.

The Locus Potion was obviously used to find people. Severus knew about the handy little device in Dumbledore's office so for the most part, Locating Potions were never needed. Unless the device couldn't get a reading because of the powerful Extorqueo Spell; that was the only thing that could interfere with readings. Locus Potions only need some of the essence of the person in question and they could find people, dead or alive. They were completely independent of anything else and couldn't be interfered with by any spell, no matter how powerful.

'Who is important enough for Dumbledore to keep a tab on? Not to mention send him into enough of a panic for him to come to me for a Locus Potion?' Then it hit him. Heart sinking, he started to shake his head in denial. He slammed the goblet down and rushed into his bedroom.

There, in an Glamour charm covered hollow in the wall, lay a small mahogany box. Spelled to open only to his magical signature, the lid popped open when he ran a shaking hand over the crack. Looking inside, there was a thick manila packet, some ancient jewelry, and a miniature clear globe.

Trembling hand gently picked up the tiny orb and he held his breath as it started to glow white. It was a globe he had purchased almost seven years ago. The salesman said its ability were keeping track of one person's status. It was meant for watching over one's love but Severus bought it for another purpose. To keep track of Harry Potter.

It glowed two different colors to indicate the person's status. It glowed red when the person was dead. It glowed green when the one in question was alive.

Severus gazed down at the little orb, praying that it wasn't going to turn red.

Abruptly, it flashed white before giving off a delicate shade of emerald green.

Severus nearly collapsed in relief. He held onto the fragile diminutive green orb as if it were a lifeline as he leaned against the wall. Harry was alive. Lily's precious son was still alive.

'But for how long.' The little voice was back. But now, it sounded a bit ominous.

'That's right. How long will he be safe?' Severus brooded before coming to another startling thought. 'How did anyone manage to take Lily's son away, much less cast a dislocation charm on him?!' Severus knew that Dumbledore was rarely that concerned so the only possible reason for that anxiety would be if his precious little "Boy-Who-Lived" was gone.

'But the only charm that can outfox Dumbledore's little device is a complex and little-known dislocation charm. Few have even heard of the dark charm, much less have enough power to cast even a portion of the intensely complicated ritual. I only know of it because I once read it in a tome in- in the Dark Lord's library!' Now Severus felt sick. If anyone had the power to cast the spell, it would be the Dark Lord. Not only that, he had an incentive to kidnap young Harry.

Normally, the very thought of Lily's son chained in a dungeon and tortured made Severus want to panic and run to Dumbledore and spill his guts. Luckily, the inhibiting effects of the Fire whiskey managed to calm him and actually think things through.

'Why would the Dark Lord kidnap Lily's son but keep him alive? Normally he would have killed him on the spot; not taking any chances. Unless...'

'Unless he wanted to keep him. To raise him in his own image. Raise him until he is nothing but loyal to the murderer of his parents. The murderer of sweet innocent Lily.' Severus nearly snarled at the voice before pausing. It was true; the Dark Lord would do something like that. Once Harry was nothing but a cold-blooded murderer loyal only to him, he would announce the fact to the world. Thus shattering all hope for the wizarding world. He was cruel like that.

'But where is Harry? Surely he wasn't living in the Slytherin Manor. It was potentially dangerous to many older and experienced Death Eaters, much less young little boys.' Severus slowly made his way back to the table with the bottle of Fire whiskey. Pouring another gobletful, he began pacing while taking sips intermediately.

'That boy...' Severus stopped midstep. That little boy with the Dark Lord. The little boy that Dark Lord had "requested" he teach. The little boy with a head full of ebony black hair. The little boy with hauntingly beautiful emerald eyes.

'Lily's eyes.' Severus realized. He slowly backed into his chair and collapsed onto it. 'Lily's son. That was Lily's son. The Dark Lord has Lily's son and want **me** to teach him!' Suddenly the hilarity of the situation reached him and he began to laugh helplessly.

It was too good to be true. He swore to protect Lily's son with his life and now he was practically presented with him on a silver platter.

'I could try and kidnap him during the Potions lesson.' Severus realized. 'I would be as good as dead afterwards but if I portkey him to someone whom I know will keep him safe...'

'Dumbledore.' He mused. 'Dumbledore would be able to keep him safe. But who would keep him safe from Dumbledore. Who would keep Lily's son safe from his "savior" if I die?'

Severus finally decided to try during the lesson. 'The sooner, the better. Who knew how much corruption the Dark Lord would have inflicted on Lily's son by then. I will wait until I get the chance. Then I will take him to the Prince Manor. No one who doesn't have Prince blood can enter unless the Heir allowed it. Since I am the last one alive with Prince blood, I am the Heir. Therefore, Lily's son will be safe there.'

With that decided, Severus resolved to get totally smashed.

* * *

Meanwhile in the Headmaster's Office

* * *

Dumbledore was starting to wear a hole in the carpet with all his pacing.

His frustration was that he had absolutely no way of locating Harry Potter. No way of finding one little boy.

He already had his suspicions of who had likely taken the child. Through logic and motives, he had narrowed the list to one single possible person. However, it was impossible that that person was also since he was supposedly **dead**.

That led him back to square one.

"Damn it!" he cursed. He was frustrated beyond belief. Every lead he had pursued led to a dead end. He was supposed to be the best. Nothing was beyond his reach. But he couldn't find one little boy!

Kreee!

He gave a start when the gentle trill sounded from behind him. Turning, he came face to beak with his beautiful phoenix, Fawkes.

He still remembered the day he had captured the lovely phoenix and altered his memories with a powerful memory charm. Now, the deadly yet gorgeous bird was his and not some old lady's. But she wouldn't miss him in any event.

It wasn't like she was still alive to mind.

He sighed. 'I need some intelligent conversation that isn't in the form of a painting.' Walking to the fireplace, he reached for his bowl of Floo powder.

It was an unusual bowl. It had cost him several galleons to commission a sock-shaped bowl. The knobby looking puke-green and hot-pink bowl brought a smile to his face every time he say it. Sadly, not many appreciated the wonders of such colors or socks.

Taking a pinch of Floo powder, he threw it into the fire, turning it a blazing green. Sticking his head into it, he called for Mr. Ollivander.

"Ollivander! It is me, Dumbledore. Are you busy at the moment?" Dumbledore's head appeared in the fire at Ollivander's.

From behind a doorway, Ollivander's head popped up. "Dumbledore! I did not expect to see you! Please, come visit! The shop is quite empty at the moment." Ollivander graciously said.

Dumbledore nodded before his head disappeared. A second later, he was stepping out of the fireplace; brushing soot from his robes.

"Ahh, I am in great need of mental stimulation. I feel like I am surrounded by incompetent fools." Dumbledore paused. "O second thought, I am surrounded by incompetent fools."

Ollivander snorted and shook his head. "Just because they do not possess as much magical talent as you do, doesn't mean they are fools. I, myself, definitely do not have as much as you do and yet you consider me as an equal in intelligence."

"You don't count. You have been my companion since I received my wand from you." Dumbledore said obstinately.

"Very well. Ignore my advice." Ollivander gave a derisive sigh. "Now, what brings you here to my shop. Don't say it is just for mental stimulation. While I know you like our conversations, I can tell when you are stressed. What seems to be the problem?"

Dumbledore decided to just get to the point. "You wouldn't happen to still have the Adversus wand still with you?"

"Lost the Potter boy, have you?" Ollivander said with great amusement.

"I certainty have not! I just wish to-" Dumbledore hotly answered.

"I know you Dumbledore. You don't need the Adversus wand for anything but a spell that you absolutely can't break. After all, that's what the Adversus wand was made for. It is the opposite of a wand; incapable of casting spells, only breaking them. There are only so many spells that can't be broken by normal means and would leave you in such a panic. However, I know there aren't many current things that could have you needing the Adversus wand. There is only one that I know of. Thus, I automatically assume there is an Extorqueo Spell cast upon someone whom you are monitoring. And who is the most important person you would monitor? Why Harry Potter of course." Ollivander smugly interrupted the now scowling Dumbledore. "Not only that, your reaction proved it."

"Very well. You are correct in your assumption. Now will you help me?" Dumbledore was annoyed. He had forgotten the feeling of being out-though and now was experiencing it.

"No." Ollivander answered resolutely.

"You don't need to do anything-" Dumbledore started to argue.

"Anything but give you the Adversus wand to break the Extorqueo Spell. Which would cause you to find the Young Potter boy and then allow you to drag him back into whatever miserable hole you've been hiding him." At the look of astonishment on Dumbledore's face, Ollivander continued. "Don't look so surprised. I have known you since you held your first wand. I know exactly how you think. You would be cruel enough to get want you want no matter what was in your way. Therefore, I want no part in this."

Dumbledore scowled fiercely. "You may be my friend but I will not tolerate such disrespect! Now give me that wand!"

Ollivander just laughed softly. "Ahh, Dumbledore. I don't think you understand. I refuse to help you in this. Even if I had the Adversus wand, I wouldn't give it to you." Dumbledore froze at those words.

"You mean you don't have it anymore?!" He growled out thunderously.

"It left my possession long ago." Ollivander replied quietly. As if he had heard something, he turned around started to leave. "I would love to continue our chat but someone is headed toward the shop. Perhaps we may continue our conversation sometime in the future. You are welcome to visit."

"Perhaps." Dumbledore rumbled. He left in a flurry of green flames. Ollivander sighed inaudibly and disappeared around the corner. The sounds of explosions, pops, and other effects of rejected wands soon followed.

A short time later a slightly dusty Ollivander returned.

"I suppose you heard everything." Inquired the cheerful Ollivander. "I don't think he ever realized that I wasn't the true owner of the Adversus wand. Nor did he think that there was a sister wand; the Verus wand. Capable of reestablishing any spell or charm that was countered or un-done, it is the perfect match for the Adversus wand. Not only that, it can function as any normal wand can. Its appearance is, for the most part, similar to any ordinary wand." Ollivander paused as if waiting for a response. When none came forth. He continued.

"Both wands are perfect opposites yet compliment the other in every way. In the hands of a single being, they could beat almost any wand. In your hands." This time Ollivander paused longer but still met only silence.

"Now, the three heirs are together and the hands of fate have been set in motion. What are you going to do now?"

A hair raising hiss echoed through the room. Ollivander only raised an eyebrow as the darkness shrouded figure emerged from the gloom.

"I intend on bringing a little chaos." Glowing eyes looked menacing from behind the hood as a devilishly malicious smirk spread on pale lips.

* * *

To be continued...

* * *

Latin translations

Extorqueo – dislocating

Locus – locating

Adversus – opposite

Verus – true, real

AN: Hi! I managed to update on Wednesday, July 2, 2008. (Very late at night but still on time!)

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ATTENTION!!

I bring to you... _**ANOTHER CONTEST!**_

Whoever can guess who this latest mystery character is will get to choose the death of one person! The closest one wins!

Rules and Hints

1. I will kill the person of the winner's choice if and only if he/she will not be important to my plot or storyline. Sorry, I might need some people. I will PM the winner if the character chosen is one I need and can't kill.

2. It is not an Harry Potter canon character!

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Credits

I got the idea of the little orb from a manga called Rebirth. In it, they used rings. Though I'm not sure if I got the colors right.

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Mr. Bunny wishes you all good luck on Aki's contest! And Happy 4th of July!

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C(")(")


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: My name is not J. K. Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter and I never will. I don't own Naruto or Rebirth either.

"_Parseltongue"_

"Normal speech"

'Thought speech'

Flashback

"Parseltongue in Flashback"

* * *

AN: Happy New Year everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in so long. This is a New Years gift! As for my contest… So far, three people have close. Two have said two different but true descriptions. But one is slightly closer. Keep guessing and reading! And reviewing!

* * *

Chapter 10

* * *

An innocent ray of sunlight peeked through the crack in the loosely closed curtains. It alighted upon the angelic features of a lovely boy. Soft ebony hair; tangled wildly on the silken pillow. Dark and long eye lashes, framing eyes closed in sleep. Full red lips; perfect on an innocent face.

A face that was grimacing in discomfort. It was not the shaft of sunlight that was bothering the child. It wasn't the darkness that surrounded him. It was the darkness that was in his dreams. In his nightmares.

The darkness haunted his nights. Creeping into his heart, it had taken root. Unwilling to relinquish its victim, it retreated from the disgustingly happy day. Only when night fell, would it creep out to unfurl its feelers of wickedness into the poor child. The tentacles of fear, hatred, and agony seeped into his dreams, turning them into dark nightmares.

The unfortunate boy tossed and turned. Sweat soaked his sheets. Almost every night, his dreams were full of monsters; both human and not. The horror reached its crescendo at dawn. That was when the pure fear would wake him. This morning was no exception.

Just a few minutes after the beam of light had peeked through, the boy's eyes snapped open. He lurched into a sitting position, gasping. Terror was reflected clearly in his eyes.

After a while, he closed his eyes and fell back. Sprawled on the damp sheets, he breathed heavily. As he lay there, he tried to pull himself together. He tried not to remember the horrible feeling of the hands. He tried to think about how kind Tom and Neko was. Instead of thinking of the harsh words, he tried to think of how complimentary Boppy was.

Finally calming down, he reopened his eyes and climbed out of bed. He slowly trudged to the bathroom. He turned on the shower and stepped inside. The water was charmed to adjust to the perfect temperature instantly. Soon he was soaked; clothes clung to his slight frame. Leaning on the wall of the shower, he closed his eyes again, just trying to absorb as much heat as he could into his chilled body. Once he finally felt warm again, he striped off his clothes bit by bit. Soaping his body, he finally relaxed. The steady beat of the shower was soothing to him. After drying off and getting dressed, he brushed his teeth. Once he was finished, he left his room.

Heading to the dining room, he passed by Neko's room. She received this room two days ago after their trip to Diagon Alley. Just as he was passing by, the door opened. A groggy sleepy-eyed Neko looked at him. Her daze seemed to hover about her like a fog. She stretched and suddenly glomped Harry.

"Harry-chan!" She chirped. "Goooood Morning!"

"Morning." Harry smiled. No matter what, she always seemed to chase away all the lingering bad feelings. Not only that, she also seemed to sense when he was depressed. She then would proceed to bring a smile to his face.

"Let's go get breakfast! I want some tuna!" She laughed while dragging him to the room. Once there, they plunked into the chairs. Tom was already there with his regular vanilla-bean coffee and newspaper. Harry and Neko immediately chowed down on their meals of pancake and tuna. After the gorging slowed a bit, the sound of rustling paper being put down had them looking up.

"Harry, I know you have expressed an interest in learning. While I currently haven't any time today, we will start our lessons tomorrow at 9 o'clock sharp. As for today, I have arranged a tutor for you. I understand from your devouring of the textbooks I bought you that you had developed an interest in Potions. The man I have chosen is a Potion Master. I expect you to give him the proper respect of someone of his position." Tom said lightly. Harry's face had gone through several different emotions. First, disappointment and excitement, and then disappointment and excitement again.

"Will he teach me how to brew a Nutrient potion? Or a Glamour potion? After reading the whole textbook, I really want to learn how to properly brew a Glamour potion!" Harry said excitedly. He really wanted to try to learn something as fascinating as Potions.

"Slow down Harry! Get all the details first! When is the Potions Master supposed to arrive? Will you be here? How long are the lessons? Who is the Potions Master?" Neko said curiously. Tom just smirked.

"I will be summoning him at 7 o'clock. Afterwards, I must leave on an important business congregation. You will stay with Harry in your creature form. The lessons will be at least till 12 o' clock. If you still wish to continue and it is not a hindrance to him you may. As for who he is, he is Professor Severus Snape." When he finished he had a satisfied and wicked smirk on his face.

Harry and Neko's eyes widened at the time. It was currently 6:49 and they were only half done with breakfast. Harry hurriedly gulped down everything and washed it down with his large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Boppy insisted on making a big breakfast for him everyday. He thanked her every time. He was really happy that she was so nice to him.

Harry ran out and upstairs back to his room. He hastily flipped through the few robes Tom had transfigured for him. He chose the emerald green robe with black trim. He liked the color and both Tom and Neko said it brought out the color of his eyes nicely. He really wanted to make a good impression on the Potions Master.

Running down the stairs, he sprinted toward the Floo room. When he got there, Neko was already a normal cat. Tom was standing with Nagini dozing in his arms. Harry slid to a stop in front of them and took a moment to catch his breath.

"Ready Harry? You may reveal your true name to him. He will not harm you." Tom said. Once Harry nodded, Tom drew his wand and traced in the air,

_Severus Snape_

"_Now what?" _Neko hissed a bit impatiently.

"Now we wait."

* * *

Severus Snape's room

* * *

Severus had been scowling in sleep when he felt it. An incredible burning on his left arm. Hissing, he sat straight up in bed. Nearly ripping off his sheets, he had only glance at the brand on his arm to understand.

The tattoo was pitch-black. The sinister skull with the snake sliding out of the skull's mouth was dancing on his skin. The burning sensation slowly tapered off to almost gentle tingle.

He immediately got out of bed and strode into the bathroom. After only a minute, he was out again, completely refreshed and alert.

He spelled on a set of clean black robes. He wrote out a short note to Dumbledore saying he was to be visiting his manor. After setting the note on his desk, he began gathering his things.

He shank and placed in his pockets a beginner's textbook; Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, two cauldrons, and a complete set of the most mundane and non-reactive potions ingredients for the most basic potions. He finally slipped on a silver ring. He had prepared it earlier as a portkey to his home. He had very subtle masking charms to disguise the true nature of the ring.

He took a deep breath and threw a pinch of floo powder into the fireplace. When the small flickers turned into roaring green flames, he stepped in. He clenched his right hand over the dark mark on his arm and concentrated on it. With a near-silent pop, he vanished.

* * *

Slytherin Manor – Floo room

* * *

Floosh!

Harry nearly started when the flames in the fireplace turned green and burned fiercely. A second later a soft pop was heard. With the sound, a tall intimidating man stepped out of the fire.

He was tall and thin. A hook nose adorned his shallow faced skin. Dark shoulder-length hair hung to the sides of his face. Light reflected off the hair, making it seem extremely greasy. Two black fathomless eyes seemed to pierce everything he saw.

Those two eyes swept across the room, pausing only at the occupants. Harry shivered slightly when they paused at him. They felt like they were trying to look into his soul. He ducked his head, shy all of a sudden.

Finally they rested upon Tom. Severus bowed his head to Tom. Tom nodded in return and began to introduce them.

"Severus, this is Harry Potter and Neko. Harry and Neko this is Professor Severus Snape." They all gave a bow in greeting except Neko who meowed and acted like a normal cat. Sorta.

"Pfft!" Neko suddenly jumped on a strand that was dragging on Severus' robes. Harry stifled his giggle when Severus gave a start. Tom just smirked before continuing.

"Severus here will be teaching you the delicate arts of potion making.

Harry gave Severus a tentative smile. "I've already read the Beginner's Guide to Potions already. I really want to try to brew some potions." This made Severus start a bit. He didn't think Potter's spawn would ever be interested in Potions.

'Then again, Lily enjoyed Potions.' Severus remembered with a jolt of pain. He gave Harry an almost curious look before turning to Tom.

"We will start with some simple potions. Later, if you show aptitude we may try to brew an intermediate level potion.

Harry nodded and ran out the door. A few seconds later, he ran back in and gave Tom a hug before darting away again with Neko at his heels. All the while, Severus had nearly had a heart-attack watching Harry's action. He was dazedly about to follow Harry when he a whisper in his ear.

"Remember, Severus." The sentence was almost like a hiss. "Do not disappoint me." Severus shivered before almost fleeing after Harry.

Upon entering the potions lab, Severus found everything already set up and ready for any general potion brewing. Sweeping his eyes across the room, Severus found Harry sitting on a stool absorbed in a tattered copy of Potions for Dummies. His eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of Neko curled up on a cushion on the side worktable. Silently stalking to Harry, Severus leaned over his shoulder and observed Harry's concentration.

'He really is like Lily.' Severus thought with a pang of regret. 'He even has the same expression on his face as she did when she was thinking.'

"You are interested in potions?" The soft statement made Harry jump. He hadn't noticed the potions master come up behind him. It took him a minute to realize what had been asked.

"Oh yes! I think it's really neat what potions can do!" Harry chirped, inwardly nervous. He had noticed that this was the same man as before in Diagon Alley. The man hadn't done anything to him but was intimidating all the same.

Watching Harry, Severus was slightly startled by the way the child looked at him. While his face was calm, his eyes had a wild glimmer in them; almost like an animal that had been hurt and was now wary of everything.

Now suspicious of what might have put that in Lily's son's eyes, Severus decided to continue with the pretense of teaching Harry potions.

"Alright Harry, why don't we start on what you already know. Do you know the basic components of most potions?" Severus started questioning Harry on all the basic principles and components of potions. Once he was satisfied with the range of knowledge Harry knew, he ordered the child to gather the necessary ingredients for a simple Hair Color Changing potion.

"…twelve porcupine quills, six ounces of armadillo bile, where is that ground bihorn…" Faint murmurings were all that could be heard as Harry scurried around, looking for potions ingredients. When everything was set in place, Harry looked up quietly at Severus.

"Start by stirring six separate ounces of armadillo bile into your cauldron. Make sure it is a low flame." Severus quietly watched as Harry did as he was told. "After the last ounce is added, begin stirring counterclockwise slowly. Add a porcupine quill after every third revolution."

Watching Harry stirring for a moment, Severus reached out to correct Harry's movements. "No, you have to stir slower than…"

As Severus' hand reached around Harry's head, Harry flinched away almost unnoticeably. Severus had to force himself to ignore the flinch and continue on to correct Harry. Gently covering the small hand in his own, Severus gripped the pewter stirring rod and steadied the shaky stirring. After a few stirs and a porcupine quill, Severus let go and continued with the instructions.

Nothing else occurred until the end. Harry was listening to Severus' instructions of adding a pinch of bihorn powder for every second clockwise stir and third counterclockwise stir when Severus leaned forward to check the color of the potion.

Harry, who hadn't noticed what Severus was doing, finished stirring in the last of the bihorn powder required and turned around to find the potions master almost face to face. Harry started back with a gasp and nearly would have stumbled into the cauldron if Severus hadn't quickly grabbed him. The moment Severus' hand closed around Harry's arm, Harry yelped and automatically tried to curl into a ball.

Severus could only stare in shock as the little boy in his grip became a quivering mass of whimpers.

"Please… Do-n't…" The whimper was barely intelligible but caused Severus to feel a crack in the ice he had surrounded his heart with. What had happened to make Lily's son was so scared?

"Harry?" Severus slowly crouched down while keeping a firm grip to prevent Harry from escaping. "Harry…" Severus could only crouch there, helpless in what to do to help.

* * *

Fear. Harry was so terrified.

He was back at the Dursleys.

Now Uncle Vernon had him again. He was going to get it so bad. Everything must have just been a dream.

A really nice dream.

Now he must have overslept and Uncle Vernon was going to let him have it.

"Please… Do-n't…" He whimpered, knowing it wouldn't make a difference anyway but unable to stop himself.

All he could do was wait for the first blow for his "impertinence."

"Harry?" The soft hesitant murmur was not what Harry was expecting.

"Harry…" The second whisper of his name made Harry uncurl slightly, just slightly. The grip on his arm loosened and left. Harry was going to try to escape but then he felt a gentle caress against his hair.

"Mrow?" Harry felt a flutter of hope as he heard the quiet rumble of feline purring and a soft furry head butting against his hand. Cautiously raising his head Harry watched with wide eyes as soft little pads gently batted at his fingers. Two little jewels of eyes gave him a gentle look of reassurance.

"Neko…" The moment the name left his lips, he relaxed. Everything was coming back to him. He flushed with embarrassment and jerked his head up when he remembered Severus' presence. He didn't expect what he saw.

Crouched down, Severus appeared as a huge mass of black velvety robes. The only color was his two hands lots in the folds of fabric and his pale face. That was not startling.

What was startling was the expression on his face.

Sparse thin eyebrows were drawn back on his shallow skinned forehead. The arch of the long hook nose was wrinkled. Thin lips were twisted in a helpless grimace.

A glimmer of _something_ in the black depths of Severus' eyes.

Harry swallowed with difficulty and looked down. He didn't know what that glimmer was but he felt really vulnerable.

"Harry…" Severus paused, unsure of how exactly to phase it, and finally decided to take the direct approach. "Harry, who hurt you?"

When Harry only bit his lip and shook his head in denial, Severus hesitantly raised the second question that had been plaguing since that first flinch.

"Did… _Tom_ do something?" To this Harry's eyes widened and he violently shook his head in response.

"No! Tom would never hurt me! He would never do something like how Uncle-" Harry suddenly fell silent, realizing what had spilled out.

"Uncle…?" Severus breathed out, stunned. "You mean your _uncle_ hurt you?" When Harry stayed silent unwilling to speak, Severus tried to appeal to him.

"Harry, please tell me. Did your uncle hurt you? Did any of your family hurt you? If they did, I will do everything in my power to keep you from every going back to them. But I need to know, did he hurt you?" Severus spoke to Harry as if he was a frightened wild animal.

Harry's resolve to keep silent wavered. He never wanted to go back, never. But could he really tell this man he barely met? In the end, he didn't need to decide.

Neko gave a small phft and padded up to Severus. Delicately weaving through the voluminous black robes reached one of the pale hands. She touched her cold wet nose to one of his long spindly fingers and sniffed. He gave an almost imperceptible twitch but held still.

She gave his hand a few more sniffs before giving him a delicate lick and a meow. Then she began her soothing little rumble of a purr.

"Neko?" Harry murmured. He looked shyly at Severus.

"Please Harry." The note of pleading finally convinced Harry. "Did he hurt you?"

Harry hesitated but finally gave a small nod. Severus' breath hitched but he kept going. "Did any of your other relatives hurt you?"

Another small nod. The ice surrounding Severus' heart cracked further at the sight of the frail child in front of him.

Lily's son, no Harry had been hurt by his own family. His relatives, his _own blood and flesh._ The ones _Dumbledore_ had left Harry with. How could he have done that?!

"Don't worry, Harry. I'll do everything in my power to keep you from ever returning to them." Severus promised, knowing that it was completely true.

He held out a hand that was tentatively taken and pulled them both up. He seethed inwardly when he felt how bony Harry's hand was and how light he was.

"Please clean up your workspace." Severus quietly said. Harry only nodded and scurried around and gathered all the leftover ingredients he had taken in excess. As he cleaned, Severus watched silently in thought.

Neither noticed Neko slip out of the potions lab.

When Harry was finished, he turned around to see Severus inspecting the potion.

"The potion's consistency and color are almost perfect." Severus quietly said. "Very good."

Harry flushed with pride. A potions master had complemented his potion!

"Umm. Will you be back?" Harry hesitantly asked. He looked down. "I like potions. I- umm- well, I want to try to brew some more potions Professor Snape." He peeked out from behind his bangs and quickly looked down again. There was an unreadable look in those dark eyes.

"Please call me Severus." There he paused and looked at the ring on his finger. He fiddled with the silver ring for a moment before continuing. "Do you like it here? Would you rather be somewhere else instead of with… Tom?"

"I like it here! Tom is really nice to me!" Harry protested. Severus nodded and gave a small bow.

"Very well. I will now take my leave. You may, of course, present your potion later. It should be consume in two ounce portions." With that, Severus swept out of the lab. He had almost reached the Floo room when he was jerked into a dark room on the side.

He was swiftly disarmed. He stiffened when he was met with two glowing red eyes.

"Ssseverusss…" He felt sweat begin to form on his brow. It was never a good sign when the Dark Lord fell back into a more serpentine speech. Not quite parseltongue but not completely English.

"Harry is mine. I took him from those despicable muggles who beat him and starved him. The filthy muggles that your _Dumbledore_ sent Harry to. Harry was starved of all care. I will not hurt him. I will protect all that is mine." The Dark Lord's eyes were ablaze with possessiveness. "_And Harry is MINE!_ You will not harm him nor take him away from me."

Severus bit his lip to prevent any emotions from escaping.

"You loved your Lily with all of your soul, didn't you? Now you have pledged your life to protect her son. To keep him happy." The Dark Lord paused and then continued. "He is happy here. With me."

"Will you tear him away from his happiness? Wrench him away and send him to the so-called light side? Or will you stay and protect him on the side in which you were born to? The side that's powers still run through your veins?"

Severus closed his eyes and his whole figure sagged. It was undeniable. There wasn't any reason for him to stay with the light side if Harry was here.

"I pledge my life to protecting Harry. I pledge to serve you as long as your interests serve to protect Harry. As long as this true, I am at your service."

As Severus kneeled, Tom's eyes glowed with triumph.

"Yesss."

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To be continued...

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AN: Hi! I managed to update on January 1st, 2009. (My contest is still not done!) Hope you all liked it! I'll try to update again soon but I'll make no promises so I don't break any.

Mr. Bunny wishes you all good luck on Aki's contest! And Happy New Year!

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